For a Little Fire Beside Me
by OzQueene
Summary: The Planeteers left Hope Island five years ago to pursue their own dreams. Linka is definitely ready to go back - life wasn't exactly easy when she had to deal with it alone.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** For a Little Fire  
**Rating/Warnings:** M  
**Summary:** The Planeteers left Hope Island five years ago to pursue their own dreams. Linka is definitely ready to go back - life wasn't exactly easy when she had to deal with it alone.

******Notes: **This is my first ever Captain Planet fic! I admit I haven't watched the episodes in a while, so my grasp of the characters may not be perfect - but I hope you like it, all the same! This story has language and adult themes in it. I'll try to warn ahead, in appropriate chapters, if certain scenes are likely to be worse than others.

It's set in present day, rather than during the canon time line.

* * *

Linka checked her cell phone and pocketed it again once she was sure it was off. Shoelaces tied and hair in a tidy ponytail, held off her face. Flash-light, lock-picking kit, portable memory stick, pen, paper.

Ready.

She slipped under the fence and stole along the line of shadow the nearby buildings offered, heading towards the main office, her eyes darting left and right for the security guard she knew would be on patrol nearby. Once she was inside it would be easier.

She held her breath as she tinkered quickly with the lock on the window – glancing over her shoulder now and then, her ears straining to pick up any noise that wasn't suited to the normal background hum of crickets and shifting leaves.

She dropped silently through the window and slid it closed again, her eyes immediately seeking the security panel near the laboratory door. The light was green, which meant the building hadn't been sealed yet. She sat back against the wall and checked her watch. It wouldn't be long. Focusing her eyes on the little green light, she refused to let her mind wander. From the moment it turned red, she'd have 60 seconds to disarm it again. Any longer and the code would lock her out.

She breathed slowly, watching the light, listening to far-off voices calling good night, and footsteps fading away as people left for home. The lights in the hallway were shut off, and she gripped her flash-light.

The light on the security panel went red, and she aimed her flash-light at the floor and hurried across the room, anxious to avoid crashing into the furniture and the empty, gleaming glass flasks carefully arranged on the counters.

She pressed her ear to the door first, and heard nothing. The building was silent. Crossing her fingers, she punched _cancel_ and waited with bated breath. The light flashed green again. No sirens went off – and nobody muttered curses outside before punching the code in again. They had gone, simply assuming that the alarm would continue to count down the final minute before arming itself.

Linka waited a little longer, feeling tense. Finally, convincing herself that everything was okay, she slipped out into the hallway, keeping her flash-light off, but handy. She relied on the windows along the corridor as she crept on silently toward the stairs, the moonlight bright enough to cast a grey shadow alongside her.

She stopped on an upper floor, outside laboratory 12, and tested the door. Locked. She clamped her flash-light in her teeth and took out her lock-picking kit, working hurriedly. She was nervous and she wanted to get out of there fast.

The computers all hummed silently in the dark, lights blinking here and there. She locked the door behind her and sat at the closest computer. Her fingers ran rapidly over the keys and she plugged the USB drive in, searching for files to copy.

She was almost done when a shadow fell across the frosted glass in the door.

She looked up in alarm and quickly disconnected her USB drive, her eyes darting to the alarm panel by the door. The light still glowed green – she was safe.

But someone was here.

The door handle rattled gently.

"_Chyort voz'mi_..." She ducked behind the desk at the front, peering around the corner. She tucked the memory stick into her bra and zipped her jacket up again slowly, biting her lip as the metal teeth ran together. It sounded awfully loud.

A key. A key was slid into the lock and it clicked open. The door swung silently and a shadow entered. Linka dared not look. She pressed herself against the counter at the front of the room, praying that whoever it was would stay on that side of it and not see her sitting there. She anxiously ran over everything she'd done so far to avoid getting caught.

No perfume or strong-smelling soaps, her cell was switched off, her clothing was dark and – as a result – difficult to see in the shadowy moonlight. Had she been seen sneaking in? Had someone come to check the alarm and discovered that it wasn't on?

She risked a peek around the edge of the desk, but she couldn't see the new arrival. She could hear computer keys clacking gently and she prayed that she'd left everything just as she'd found it. She didn't want to be discovered until after she'd reached the rendezvous point and was well and truly out of the way and safe.

It seemed a long time before anything else happened. She'd been stuck there for at least half an hour listening to computer keys and mouse clicks, when there was the soft sound of a chair being scraped back slowly, and footsteps on linoleum. The door opened again, slowly, and clicked shut.

Linka hurried to the door herself. Whoever it was, they'd be turning the alarm on again soon, and she wanted to be out of there. She made herself wait an agonising ten seconds before she slipped out into the hallway and began hurrying toward the stairwell.

She was annoyed that she'd been disturbed. She hoped she had everything she needed. She wasn't sure if anyone would be able to tell what she'd done, but she didn't want to risk a second break-in the following night. She had to hope she'd copied over enough evidence. Maybe it was just in time – she hadn't checked to see what the other 'visitor' was doing. Maybe he had deleted everything?

She cursed herself for not checking, and considered doubling back – but the situation had become too risky. She slowed as she neared the stairwell. The building was not very big, but she didn't know it very well, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't going to emerge too close to the security station. A quick glance at a nearby alarm panel indicated that the main alarm was still switched off – though the main exits had their own separate codes. She'd need to find another window, or a door designated for deliveries and freights.

A soft footstep behind her made her freeze.

She moved on pure adrenaline and instinct, whirling around and aiming a high kick at the man behind her. To her surprise, he ducked, and countered with a kick of his own, knocking her to the floor. She grunted in pain and surprise. He went to move past her – a shadow in the dark aiming for the stairwell, but she reached for him, desperate to avoid him raising the alarm. She tripped him by grabbing his ankle, and struggled to beat him to his feet. He was fast, though – and strong. He lashed out again, and she fell back against the wall with a gasp. She resisted the urge to swear – her accent, let alone her native language, would be a dead give-away.

She kicked him again and this time she connected with his knee. She heard him grunt in pain, and she took the opportunity to flee into the stairwell, leaping down steps four at a time and relying on her rubber soles to keep the noise to a minimum. She could hear him following, his breath heavy.

Sure he would soon be joined by security guards, she didn't bother toying with the alarm. She burst through a side door into the night air and ran for the fence, not risking a look over her shoulder to see just how much attention she'd gained. She heard a shout, and lights flooded the yard, but by that time she had made it to the fence and was rapidly scaling it. She fell heavily into the scrub on the other side and finally took a moment to look back. Security guards were running about in confusion, unsure about what had just happened. Someone was pointing in her direction, and though she was sure she was out of sight now, she didn't bother hanging around any longer.


	2. Chapter 2

"I think the other files were deleted just moments after I copied these," Linka explained. "I was interrupted."

"You were discovered?" He sounded displeased, and she tried to resist showing her own irritation.

"_Nyet_, I was not," she denied, perhaps a little too hotly. "Someone came in at the wrong time, that is all. He did not know I was there. He came across me again in the corridor and I had to fight him to get away. The main guards were only aware of my presence after I left the building."

"Well, these should be enough," came the reply. Her superior was searching through the files she had gathered with a satisfied look on his face. "Good job, Linka."

She reddened at the praise. "Thank you," she murmured. "I am just glad I can help. This factory needs to be shut down..."

Robert held up the USB drive that had been tucked into her bra just hours before. "It _will_ be shut down, once we make these files known. You did a good job."

He touched her arm and she raised her eyes to his and shook her head a little.

"Robert..."

"A drink to celebrate?"

"_Nyet_, I am tired..."

"Of course..." He glanced to the clock. It was now well and truly into the small hours of the morning, and he was exhausted himself. "You should get some rest. I'll see you Monday. Well done again, Linka."

"_Da_, thank you..." She smiled briefly at him and left the room, feeling a little conflicted.

Her adrenaline had worn off, and she wanted a hot bath and a comfortable bed – but her mind was moving at a mile a minute. She was pleased she had managed to secure the files – but annoyed at being discovered, and annoyed that _Robert_ had been so annoyed about it. She rubbed her shoulder. She was going to get a bruise from where the mystery man had struck her.

Despite the hour, she ran a bath when she got home, and laid back and thought about him, needing to get all the circumstances mapped out properly. Was he a security guard? She didn't think so. He wasn't in uniform and he had no reason to be so secretive if he was a security guard. More likely he was one of the lab scientists, hoping to erase something that indicated his wrong doings, and he'd simply spotted her after she'd moved to make her escape.

She towelled her hair dry and stood in front of the refrigerator in a robe. She made herself a quick ham and cheese sandwich and opened a beer that Robert had left there when he and Caitlin had stopped by one night. They'd meant to do paperwork but the night had evolved instead into drunken chatter and laughter.

She needed to go grocery shopping. The past few weeks had been so hectic she'd barely been home at all. It had all been worth it though, in the end. The factory would be shut down in the next couple of days, and as a result, so would their animal testing.

Worth it, and yet she couldn't shake that hollow feeling inside her. The empty space that her body and soul seemed to keep reserved for the Planeteers.

She sipped her beer and flicked the television on, letting it flood the room with silvery blue light and dim noise.

She stretched out on the sofa and let her mind wander. It was almost five years, now, in total. Five years since she'd seen the others.

A year since her grandmother had died. A year since she'd moved to London and discovered her current job. She had thought at the time that it was exactly what she'd needed. She had spent four years looking after her sick grandmother – immersed in the responsibilities of cooking and cleaning, and hospital visits, and medications and operations and transfusions and rehabilitations. Hospice and counselling, death and funerals. Grief. And she'd realised, once all of that was gone – once she had time to think and realise how heartbroken she was – she needed to be out doing this again. Standing up for clean air and water, and better treatment for those that couldn't speak for themselves.

Only she couldn't do it in Russia. There was too much sadness there now – her grandmother was gone, and her brother was married and they'd grown apart now anyway. She had felt angry with him for not shouldering as much responsibility as she had – he had gone and married and she was home with her grandmother watching Death steal her away. It had caused several bitter arguments and things were still not the same.

She thought about America, but it was just a brief fantasy. She willed herself not to think of it again, and then she'd come to London and found Robert and Caitlin, and _Earth & Air,_ and she'd joined them and made friends and had felt useful. She'd made a difference.

But that void still didn't fill. She woke in the mornings with lingering voices from dreams still drifting around in her subconscious. She found herself writing letters to Gi and never sending them. Found herself searching the internet for any signs of the others – pulling up old addresses and phone numbers and never actually using the information. Just finding it, and trying to satisfy herself with the knowledge that they were all still out there somewhere, living life, just like she was.

* * *

Linka jerked awake and winced. She'd fallen asleep on the couch and now she was going to pay for it – her neck was stiff and her right arm was asleep from where she'd been laying on it.

There was another knock at the door. She squinted at the clock on the way past. Just after six. She was going to kill Robert.

"Robert?" She waited before she slid the chain back.

"Yeah. Sorry, Linka... I know it's early."

"Early," she muttered, shifting the bolt and letting the chain drop. "The birds are not awake yet."

She let him in and he stood in the foyer, shedding his jacket and starting up a conversation almost immediately, as though she had been in the cab with him on the way over and knew exactly what he was talking about already.

"It's all closed down, anyhow," he said cheerfully, unwinding his scarf. "And you were right, it was Rhodes that was behind most of it. He had a partner in Beijing though – we didn't know about that. Anyway it's all taken care of..."

She left him to hang his jacket up and went back to the lounge room, gathering up the empty beer bottle and the plate her sandwich had been on and taking them through into the kitchen.

"They're not too happy with _Earth & Air_ at the moment, either," Robert continued, his voice drifting through from the lounge room, where he was now sitting with his feet up in front of the radiator. "They think we took all the credit, but it's not our fault we were faster, is it?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked irritably, dumping a heaped spoonful of coffee granules into her favourite mug.

"This other group – didn't I mention them earlier? They'd sent a fellow in as well, only you beat them to it, and our results went out first. We're the ones responsible for the factory being closed down, but this other lot are feeling bitter about it because they put in a lot of legwork as well. They did manage to uncover stuff we didn't know about – the Beijing organisation, for example – but it was our evidence that ultimately stamped it all out."

She yawned, still not following what he was saying, but too exhausted to question him further.

"Anyway I wanted to tell you again, well done, you know," he said, smiling up at her as she returned with two mugs of coffee. She handed him one and sank onto the couch opposite him.

"I do not follow you," she said tiredly. "Could this not wait until later?"

"Sorry," he cringed. "I thought maybe you'd be up, you know, with all the excitement. I know you like to think things through and I thought you'd still be up doing just that..."

"I was asleep."

He shot her another apologetic look, which she ignored. She sipped her coffee and eased back into the sofa cushions.

"There was another factory in Beijing?"

"Just offices, from what I can gather," he said quickly, eager to keep her interest. "This other lot – er, erm... _Planet Traffic_? Does that sound familiar?"

"_Nyet_."

"No. I think that's what they're called. Anyway they uncovered the Beijing connection. I've got a rather nasty email from their company president, accusing us of stepping on the toes of their investigation."

Linka rubbed her temples. "Someone else was uncovering all this?"

"Yes. Only we've beaten them to it."

She was beginning to resent the gleeful look on his face.

"Robert, that could have been a huge problem," she said, annoyed. "It could have made things more difficult..." she trailed off, and she glared at him suddenly. "That was them, wasn't it! In the building? Last night? I ran into them!"

"Oh, quite likely," he said, looking alarmed at her anger. "But all's well that ends well, Linka."

"_Nyet_, not – not all's well!" she spluttered, imitating him even in her rage. "I ran right into them, Robert! I had to fight him to get out!" She pulled the neck of her robe aside to show him the bruise on her shoulder.

"I didn't know they'd be there," he said impatiently, as though he were explaining all of this to a child.

"You do not have to be so delighted about it now," she snapped. "I thought it was your job to research all of this. You should have known if someone else was investigating."

"They didn't know we were investigating," he snapped. "We're good at covering our tracks, Linka, and so are they!"

She flushed and bit her lip, still furious with him, but realising he hadn't intended to put her in danger. Of course he hadn't.

"Sorry, Robert," she murmured. "I am – I am just tired. It has been a long night and a tiring few days."

He smiled gently at her. "I know. I'm sorry too. I'm just excited that we've finished this and with such a great result."

She nodded. "It is all closed. The important thing is the animal testing has stopped. Not who stopped it."

He looked as though he wanted to argue that point, but he kept quiet and sipped his coffee. "Do you want to go and grab some breakfast?" he asked hopefully.

"_Nyet_," she said softly. "Thank you. But I think I will go to bed for a while."

"Of course. Sorry." He put his half-empty mug down and got to his feet. "I'll see you Monday."

"_Da_, Monday. If you do not mind, I would like to see you first thing?"

He looked at her a little excitedly, curious and hopeful. "Of course. Come straight to my office when you get in."

"_Da_, I will..."

He hesitated. "Bye Linka."

"Goodbye."

She let him out the front door again and watched him walk down the street, his hands stuffed into his pockets.


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTES:** Just a head's up to say that I know Word of God says Wheeler's real name is James Wheeler, but I was unaware of this at the time of writing. I've given him his own name, and it'll be coming up shortly.

And, if it's not obvious already, the companies named in this fic are totally fictional. If I have, but some fluke, named a real company, it was by total accident.

* * *

Linka wasn't even sure if their office would be open on Saturdays. She'd checked the website for their address, and in her haste, had neglected to check the opening hours. But it wasn't far from the city centre, and the weather was icy but quite pleasant, so she didn't mind being out and about.

She jumped off the bus and examined the slip of paper in her hands. _Planet Traffic_ should be just a quick walk from there.

She looked around nervously, half-expecting to see Robert emerge from the crowd of Saturday shoppers and berate her for even considering going to the other office. But that was stupid. He had meetings today anyway, following up on last night's events. Still, she wondered if she should continue.

She tucked the address into her pocket and wandered along the street, gazing into shop windows. All she wanted to do, really, was have a look. See what they did – if they were so different to _Earth & Air_. If they really were as angry as Robert had made them out to be...

No, that wasn't it. She wanted to know how they knew about the office in Beijing. She was annoyed about missing it herself and she was aching to talk it over to someone else who had spent hours researching this company and their illegal movements.

Someone other than Robert.

The building was larger than she expected. Not as large as her own office building, but large enough to impress her. She pushed the door open and approached the reception desk nervously.

"Good morning," the receptionist sang, smiling at her. "How can I help you?"

"I am not sure," Linka answered nervously, her smile brief. "I am from _Earth & Air_..."

"Oh." The receptionist's tone was distinctively flatter. "Yes?"

"I – I think I ran into someone from your company last night? I just wanted to apologise and maybe – maybe talk a little about the case and see if I can offer anything useful..."

Oh, Robert was going to kill her.

"Just take a seat." The receptionist pointed, and then picked up a phone.

Linka thought about making a run for it – but her curiosity urged her to stay. There were questions to this case she needed answering.

"Mr. Armstrong, there's a woman here from _Earth & Air_," the receptionist whispered into the phone. "A German woman."

"Russian," Linka corrected swiftly.

The receptionist ignored her. "Shall I tell her you're in a meeting?"

Linka got to her feet, rolling her eyes. What a waste of time.

"Oh, of course..." The receptionist hung up and called after Linka just as she got to the door. "He'll see you. Take the elevator to the top floor. He'll meet you."

Linka gazed over her shoulder in surprise. The receptionist looked annoyed, and started hammering away at her keyboard, her lips pursed.

Linka waited for the elevator with a dry mouth and a racing heart. She was unsure of what she wanted, exactly. Did she really think these people would want to chat about the case with her? That they were freely exchange information? And if they did – would Robert appreciate it? She suddenly had an awful feeling that she might be fired, come Monday.

She was alone on the elevator. She only had to go up three floors or so, and there wasn't time, but she found herself combing her fingers through her hair and trying to tidy her appearance. She wished she had worn a suit. Jeans and a knit top seemed utterly casual and unprofessional, and that wasn't how she wanted to be seen. She cursed her fatigue and the decisions she made while under its influence.

She looked up as the door opened, and her mouth dropped open. Suddenly her appearance felt ten times worse. She wished she'd twisted her hair up, she wished she was wearing her green silk shirt and black skirt, she wished she'd put another layer of lip gloss on down in the foyer. It still wouldn't be enough.

All the times she had imagined it over the past five years – it had never been like this. In all her imagined situations, she had been coolly prepared. But now she stood with her bag hanging loosely off her shoulder, and her hair curling in a loose, long blonde tangle under her blue knit cap, her gloves stuffed in her pockets and her jeans still soaked at the hem from the ice and puddles on the street – and Wheeler stood opposite her.

The doors swiftly slid shut again, and she yelped and jumped forward, smacking the button to get them open. The lift shuddered suddenly, indecisively, before the doors jerked open again.

Wheeler stood closer, as though he too had jumped forward once the doors had closed between them. His face was pale, but he certainly didn't look unhappy to see her.

"Linka," he breathed.

"I – um... _Da_. I mean, yes." She flushed, incredibly embarrassed.

He grinned. "Are you gonna come out of there?"

If possible, she turned an even deeper shade of red, and hurried out of the elevator to stand beside him. He was wearing a dark suit and a blue shirt and tie. She couldn't ever remember seeing him so... _executive_. She felt helplessly juvenile standing next to him in her jeans.

"So I guess it's you I need to blame for my limp, this morning?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "That was you?"

"Hey, I didn't know it was you, either," he said. "You can kick a lot harder, now. I'm thankful you only got me in the knee."

She smiled, then. "I am so sorry..."

He shook his head. He was gazing at her with a slight grin on his face, and it was making her smile in return.

"You'd better come to my office," he said. "If word gets out the enemy is here, someone will start a witch hunt."

"I am the enemy?"

"You kicked me in the knee!" he said, leading her along. He was limping slightly.

She smiled. "You came up from behind. You were not fighting fair, Yankee." Her heart stopped as the nickname fell from her lips without a second thought.

He grinned over his shoulder at her. "You still won."

"_Da_, well," she said, feeling a little smug. "Let that be a lesson to you."

He laughed, and opened a door for her, waiting until she was inside before following her. The office was small and cramped, but a window overlooked the street below. The sun shone in on them weakly.

He stood against the door, looking a little awkward. He grinned, suddenly. "So, do I get a hug?"

She dropped her bag into a chair by an over-stuffed filing cabinet. "If you feel like you need one," she answered smartly.

He laughed as she embraced him. His arms went tightly around her waist, and her arms were around his neck, and she was reminded, in a bitter-sweet moment, of their last embrace. She pushed it from her mind and pressed her forehead into his shoulder, trying not to be too obvious about breathing in the scent of him.

"I've missed you," he sighed, nuzzling her neck a little. "Five years without you is five years too long."

_Say it,_ she wanted to say. _Call me babe. I complained but I never meant it and I need you to say it now, please, so I know that nothing has changed. Please say it._

"I have missed you too," she murmured, fighting back tears. She didn't want to let go – partly because she had dreamed so long of being in his arms, and partly because if they separated he would see the tears in her eyes.

"You never answered my letters," he mumbled. He squeezed her a little tighter.

She nodded. "I know... I meant to. I did... It was just..." She sobbed, loudly, and she was embarrassed but it was too late now. She clutched him tightly. "It was so awful," she wept. "She died so slowly, Wheeler. And I woke up every day and I began to hope that I would wake up and she would not – and how could I ever be so selfish..."

He stroked her hair gently, but didn't say anything, and she was relieved because it was too hard to stop and listen now that she'd started talking.

"Mishka will still not talk to me," she sobbed. "He was so angry because she was in pain and I had been away for so long... and I was angry because he was trying to punish me and he was really just punishing her... And it took so long for her to finally die. And I was so glad when it happened..." She sobbed again, trying to squirm closer to him. Her tears were soaking the shoulder of his suit.

"When she was gone – I finally woke up again, and I could focus on myself, and not anyone else... and I realised for the first time that it had been four years and time had just gone so fast..." She wiped her eyes, hesitating. "And you had all forgotten me because I had never answered any of you."

"I never forgot you," he whispered fiercely. "Not for a second."

They stood there, embraced, for a long time. It was Wheeler who pulled away. Gently. He kissed her cheek, and her forehead, and the top of her head, and he offered her a box of tissues, which she took and balanced on her lap when he sat her gently down in the chair by the desk. She wiped her eyes, embarrassed, and stared at the surface of his desk, which was overflowing with papers and envelopes and take-away coffee cups.

"I didn't mean to sound so selfish about it." He began clearing his desk hurriedly, tossing the cardboard cups into a box by the window. "I mean I knew you had other things on your mind and my letters were full of shit anyway, so I probably shouldn't have expected an answer at the best of times..."

"No, they were wonderful," she said. "When I got a new one..." She shrugged. "It always made me feel better. And I always meant to write back. I promise."

"I know, babe," he answered distractedly, gathering up a stack of old newspapers.

Her heart leapt at the term of endearment, no matter how vague it sounded.

Realising his chair had become the resting place for a teetering pile of cardboard folders, he perched himself on the edge of the desk in front of her.

"Feel better?" he asked awkwardly.

"_Da_. I am sorry about that." She wiped her eyes again and pushed the box of tissues back onto his desk.

"It's okay." He smiled gently down at her and she relaxed a little.

"So – Mr. Armstrong..." She smiled gently at him and he went red.

"Yeah. Don't call me that, ever. It feels weird."

She gave a soft laugh and looked down at her hands.

He rescued her by changing the subject. "You wanted to talk about last night?"

"I did," she said, staring down at her hands, "but I am not so bothered now. And I do not think my boss would like it."

"Neither would mine," Wheeler said. "I'm all for it, though, so just say the word."

She smiled up at him. "Are you trying to be fired, Yankee?" she asked softly.

He took her hands then, and squeezed them. "I go back to New York tomorrow," he said. "Come to dinner with me tonight?"

She nodded wordlessly, agreeing before he'd even finished the sentence. If he'd asked her to follow him to New York, she would have given him the same reaction.

"Have you been here long?" she asked hesitantly.

"No. A few days. It's the first time I've been to our London branch."

"You work in New York?"

"Most of the time. I travel a lot."

She nodded.

"How about you?"

"I live here – but _nyet_, I do not travel much. Not as much as I would like."

"Why not?"

"My boss is..." She struggled to find a tactful way to word things. "He is reluctant to give me jobs that send me so far."

"Oh."

She looked up at him, desperately wanting him to understand. "I was wishing, this morning," she said, "that he had been the one I had tried to kick in the head last night."

He laughed then, tipping his head back and squeezing her hands again. When he looked back at her his eyes were twinkling. "I'm glad it was me," he said. "I'd rather you sitting here in my office than have you sitting in someone else's."

"Someone else's would be tidier," she said pointedly, looking around.

"Yeah, well, you know that housekeeping was never my strong point," he said, following her gaze. "Besides, I'm just borrowing it. Thompson's in France at the moment and I've got his office. It was a mess before I got here."

She raised her eyebrow and he grinned at her, but before either of them could say anything further, the phone rang.

"Don't move," he said, sounding suddenly terrified that she was going to make an excuse and leave.

She shook her head and watched as he knocked a stapler and a box of pens off his desk in his haste to get to the telephone.

She listened idly as he uttered monotonous answers into the receiver. The weather outside was starting to worsen – the blue sky had disappeared and grey clouds had swept in, threatening more snow – or at the very least, rain.

Wheeler hung up and turned to her. "I uh – I have to go to a quick meeting," he said painfully. "But if you could stay, just... or wait a little..."

"Dinner, tonight, remember?" she asked, reaching for his hand. He watched her lace her fingers through his with a small spark of delight in his eyes.

"Yeah, I know..." He scribbled a note on the back of one of Harry Thompson's business cards. "I don't have my own cards here, but my cell's written on the back there, and here's the hotel I'm staying at. It's got an expensive-looking restaurant..."

She smiled and took the card from him. "I will be there."

"You'd better be," he murmured.

She stood to leave, butterflies in her stomach. She didn't want to say goodbye, no matter how brief a time it was until she got to say hello again.

He moved swiftly. She was pinned between him and the door and his mouth was down on hers. Her stomach shivered and the butterflies all swarmed up at once, sending thrills through every nerve in her body. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and arched up to him. She felt his teeth tug gently at her lower lip and his hands cupped her hips and pressed her to his own body. She trembled against him, pressing into him and pushing her fingers into his hair, holding him to her. She had no intention of leaving him again without letting him know how she really felt.

"I think you'd better go," he whispered huskily, breaking the kiss too soon. "But I'll see you later?"

She nodded wordlessly and he bent to kiss her again, sweeter this time, before he opened the door. She gathered up her bag and he walked her to the elevator, his thumb trembling across his lip, searching for tell-tale lip gloss.

"See you later," he whispered. The elevator chimed.

She nodded.

"You'll be there, right?"

"I promise," she whispered. She crossed an X over her heart and the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile.

"See you later then, babe."

She nodded. "_Da_, see you later."

She hit the button for the ground floor and he smiled at her just before the doors closed.

"You'll have a good time, I promise," he said. "It's taken me eleven years to get you on a date with me – I'll make it worth your while."


	4. Chapter 4

"Caitlin?"

"Linka, where are you? Robert has been trying to call you."

"_Da_, I got his messages. Can you come by? I need your help."

"Are you okay?"

"_Da_, I am fine. It is – I need advice."

Linka waited impatiently for her friend to arrive. Her bed was simply a mountain of clothes – her bathroom counter scattered with make-up and hair products. It was only mid-afternoon, yet Linka felt as though she was running out of time.

When the doorbell rang, she ran to answer it.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked, hurrying inside. "Has something happened?"

"I have a date," Linka blurted. "With – with an old friend."

"Ohh," Caitlin said slyly. "An old friend?"

Linka waved the comment aside impatiently. "I do not know what to wear." She tried to guide Caitlin into the bedroom to help her sort through the mountain of clothes, but Caitlin stopped and shook her head.

"How special is this friend, Linka?"

"Special," Linka said, a little frustrated that they hadn't moved anywhere yet, and the time was still slipping slowly by.

"Very special? Will you be wearing special underwear for your special friend?"

Linka went crimson. "I had not thought," she mumbled.

Caitlin raised her eyebrow. "I'm not helping you until you tell me..." she said softly, teasingly.

Linka sighed. "I worked with him a long time ago," she said. "I have not seen him in five years."

"Just worked with him? Nothing else?" Caitlin looked disappointed.

Linka hesitated. "_Nyet_," she said slowly. "It was not just work... He was special. He is special to me." She looked down at her fingers, trying to figure out how to word her complicated feelings. "I was reluctant to start a relationship in case it interfered with our work and our friends – the other people we worked with."

"And what about him?" Caitlin asked eagerly, new gossip one of her favourite things.

"He made it clear from the beginning," Linka said, glancing to the clock again. "He wanted a relationship. I..." She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair, deciding to word the truth for the first time. "By the time I decided I wanted something more as well, it was too late. We each went our separate ways and I was too busy taking care of my grandmother to consider my own needs. Now I am not entirely sure what will happen..." She thought back to the hasty kiss in Wheeler's office and her body tingled again.

Caitlin squeezed her friend's hand. "Okay, let's go shopping."

"Shopping?"

"For a new dress? For your special friend?"

Linka hesitated only a moment before she was searching for her shoes and her credit card.

* * *

"Can you see it?" she asked anxiously.

"No," Caitlin soothed. "You're being paranoid."

"He will feel bad if he can see it." She turned and twisted, trying to see her shoulder from every available angle, but it appeared Caitlin was right. The bruise had been artfully covered with make-up. Her skin looked smooth and unblemished.

"Does Robert know you're going on this date?" Caitlin asked casually, combing her fingers through a carefully-styled curl in Linka's hair.

"I have not said anything," Linka murmured in response, sorting through her eye shadow.

"I don't think he'd be happy about it," Caitlin hinted.

"Too bad," Linka hissed through her teeth. "I am not interested in Robert – or what Robert thinks."

"I know," Caitlin said patiently. "He's the only one who has failed to take that information on board."

Linka didn't bother answering. She was too busy sorting through her make-up.

"Your hair is done," Caitlin sighed, putting the bottles and jars of hair product away. "You look beautiful, Linka."

Linka looked at Caitlin in the mirror. "I feel so nervous," she said. "Nervous and stupid."

"Why?" Caitlin squeezed her hand.

"I spent a long time fighting off Wheeler's advances," Linka admitted. "Not because I didn't like him – I did – I just... there were so many reasons not to get involved."

"It's been five years," Caitlin said gently. "People change. You've changed."

"Maybe he has changed too," she said anxiously, wringing her hands.

"He will have changed, yes," Caitlin said. "But he kissed you this afternoon, remember?"

Linka nodded, her throat too dry for a verbal response.

"He said he'd missed you, remember?"

She nodded again.

"So I don't think you have to worry about his feelings," Caitlin soothed. "It sounds like his feelings for you are stronger than ever."

"That is not exactly comforting," Linka said shakily.

She looked up in alarm as the doorbell rang.

"Is he picking you up?"

"_Nyet_, I am supposed to meet him at eight o'clock..."

"I'll get it. You finish your make up." Caitlin disappeared into the hall and Linka leaned forward over the mirror, anxious to hide her worry and nerves under a smooth mask of mineral powder.

"Linka!" Caitlin's sing-song voice carried through into the bathroom. "Come and see!"

Linka emerged from the bathroom with a make-up brush in her hand.

Caitlin held an enormous bouquet of colourful flowers.

"They're from Wheeler," she said unnecessarily. "There's a card."

Linka took it with trembling fingers, and smiled when she saw the untidy scrawl. _Please, please, please don't forget you're meeting me for dinner tonight. W. _

"_Bozhe moy_," she muttered. "Idiot." She smiled though, and tucked the card into her purse. Caitlin was busy putting the flowers into water. Linka didn't recognise all of them, but she was delighted to see the bouquet was dominated by a healthy scattering of Birds of Paradise – her favourite.

"I think you are right, Caitlin," she sighed. "I do not have much to worry about."

* * *

In the cab on the way over, she had worried about being under-dressed. She had never been inside the hotel Wheeler was staying at – it was far above her own budget.

She needn't have worried. She seemed to fit in with the other women filtering into the enormous foyer – and when she caught sight of Wheeler's appreciative gaze, she stopped worrying altogether.

She was wearing black. She didn't wear black very often – favouring muted pastels at work and coloured dyes and prints for when she and Caitlin had a night out – but she thought now she might wear it a little more often. The dress was a halter-neck, hugging her breasts and her waist and skimming her hips gently to fall at mid-thigh. A year in London had been enough time to gain proficiency at walking in heels – and when she walked towards Wheeler she felt a strange sense of pride when she realised he was gazing in intense appreciation at her long, stockinged legs.

"Hello," she said rather nervously.

He grinned and stood up. "Hello indeed."

"Thank you for your note," she said. "I was in my pyjamas ready for bed when it arrived."

"Sure you were," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Though I wouldn't have complained if you'd come in a little negligee."

"_Bozhe moy,_" she muttered. "You have not changed."

He laughed. "You liked the flowers?"

"Very much, thank you." She smiled at him. "You remembered my favourite."

"I'm not just a hat-rack," he said, tapping the side of his head. He took her hand. "I think our table will be ready."

She felt so aware – and yet almost as though she was floating through a dream. She was incredibly conscious of the touch of Wheeler's hand on her skin, and the quick, admiring glances of other young men, and the lengthy, bitter glares of other young women. She was not, however, sure of how she'd made it to their table, or how long the menu had been in her hand.

"So how long have you been in London?"

"A year."

He watched her twirl the stem of her wine glass in her fingers.

"Why'd you come here?"

She shrugged. "I wanted to get out of Russia. It was too miserable there after my grandmother died – and... and because of Mishka. London was just one of the first places offering me an opportunity."

"And you're happy here?"

She hesitated. "_Da_, most of the time."

"Are you sure?"

She glanced at him. The candles on the table made his eyes look deep and dark.

"I wish my boss had more faith in me," she said. "I wish I could work faster – like we used to. Things take so long, and it is not as easy as blowing someone away and overpowering them with forces of nature and Earth and goodness. There is paperwork and what Robert calls 'red tape'."

"Who's Robert?" He tried to keep his tone light, but failed miserably.

"My boss," Linka said.

"Does he know about the nature and Earth and goodness stuff you used to get up to?"

"_Nyet_. I am thinking he would just laugh at me."

Wheeler took her hand across the table. "Linka, you should never let anyone laugh at the things you did with us."

"I miss it," she said, her voice quivering. "It is almost five full years and I am waiting and waiting for Gaia to call us back..."

Wheeler smiled gently at her. "Me too. She will. She told us she would."

"Do you think the others want it, too?"

Wheeler shrugged. "I lost touch."

Linka nodded. "_Da_, me too." She paused a moment. "Do you still live in Brooklyn?"

He shook his head. "Manhattan. My main office is there in New York, but like I said this afternoon – I travel a lot. I've been in China the past couple of months."

"Beijing?"

"That's it." He winked at her. "You didn't figure that side of it out, did you?"

"I was too busy hacking into their computer systems and breaking into their laboratories," she said, poking her tongue out daringly.

He laughed, and she smiled.

"So, Yankee, what other languages can you speak now?"

"Oh, babe, it's still just the one. Nonsense."

She giggled. "Are you joking with me?"

"No, I'm not." He smiled at her and his hand cupped underneath hers, his fingers stroking her palm gently. "I'm definitely useless at all of that sort of stuff. And in China I stuck out like a sore thumb anyway." He ran his free hand through his hair, disturbing it somewhat from its carefully-combed position.

"You wanted to keep doing this though," she murmured. "Saving the planet?"

"Sure I did," he said, gazing down at her hand and running his thumb slowly along the length of her fingers. "Like you said before – it's a lot slower these days. But good results still come from it."

She nodded. "Do you wish for your ring?"

"All the time." He grinned at her. "If I'm having a really bad day I'll even try to use it – and then remember it's not there."

She smiled. "I have done that before."

Their food arrived, and he let go of her hand reluctantly.

"When do you leave for New York?" she asked softly, focusing her attention on her napkin.

"Tomorrow afternoon." His voice was heavy. "I wish I'd have known sooner that you were here."

"_Da_, me too."

"But hey – I'm not going to fall off the edge of the planet. You're not going to stop talking to me just because I fly out tomorrow, are you?"

"Nyet," she said immediately. She was a little embarrassed by her haste. "Never again. It was horrible, Wheeler. Not having any friends left." She lowered her head again, her cheeks pink.

"You always had friends," he said. "You could pick up the phone and call Gi now, and she'd still be your friend."

"It is not as simple as that," Linka said. "You know that too."

He nodded. "I know it's not easy on the surface. But deep down, Linka, we're all still friends. We're all still connected."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I was not sure you would want to hear from me again," she said, staring down at her grilled chicken and asparagus. "I did not treat you so nicely, back then..."

He chuckled. "I think I deserved most of it." He tilted his head to the side a little, looking at her carefully, a sly smile on his face. "You did miss me though?"

She nodded, and swallowed nervously, her hands trembling slightly. "I – the past five years have not been so easy," she said carefully. "It has been hard – taking care of Grandmother. Knowing she was dying and sometimes..." She hesitated and drew a breath. "Sometimes, I would feel angry at her for fighting so hard," she whispered.

"It was hard to watch her die. It was hard to take care of her. Mishka felt as though I was finally seeing what he had seen while I was away... he felt it was some sort of justice that I take care of her during that awful time, because I had escaped from it before." She shuddered. "We had so many arguments... he does not talk to me much now – at all. And..." She looked up at him, trying to choose her words carefully; wanting him to see that she was sincere.

"You had never been cruel to me. You had always been there, and looked after me, and you had my best interest at heart. All of the time." She hung her head. "I began to feel guilty for pushing you away... I had never really wanted to..." She flushed, but Wheeler didn't interrupt her. "It was just – I was so nervous about what could go wrong. But when we were apart, all I could remember were good things. How you would make me laugh, or how you would worry about me when I was feeling upset.

"I thought of you every day..." She kept her eyes focused on her plate, too shy to look at him. "I began to remember little things about you. Things nobody else ever did for me... I realised how much I meant to you and how much you really meant to me."

She looked up at him, finally, and smiled sadly. "So, _da_, Yankee. I did miss you."

He kissed her hand and squeezed it gently. "I missed you too, babe. And so did the other Planeteers, if it gives you any consolation. We never abandoned you. Don't ever think we would. Okay?"

She nodded and he let go of her hand so she could hold her cutlery again.

She speared a piece of asparagus on the end of her fork. "I regret it sometimes," she whispered. "Being a Planeteer."

He froze in astonishment, his glass halfway to his lips. "What?"

"Only because it is so difficult to be without it," she said. "It hurts so much to have something so wonderful one day, and then have it all disappear."

"I know."

His tone caused her to look up. He was watching her with a mixture of longing and regret, and her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"How did you get out of the laboratory?" she asked, changing the subject. "You were not behind me when I ran out into the yard."

"That's because you were leading me straight into a nest of security officers," he said a little admiringly, following her rapid change of subject without hesitation. "I ran the other way once we'd reached the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was so distracted by your appearance, I was able to slip out the front door fairly easily."

"Yet again I save you," she sighed.

He chuckled. "If you say so, babe. I wish I had known it was you."

"_Da_, I wish I had known it was you. We could have helped each other."

"I'm not sure my boss would have appreciated it on the same level."

"He is competitive, your boss?"

"He's a jerk." Wheeler glanced at her and offered a bashful smile. "Not like working for Gaia, that's for sure."

"My boss is competitive," Linka said bitterly. "He is always wanting to be first to do everything. He was very pleased when he learned our company had beaten yours to release the findings."

"Yeah my boss wasn't too happy about that," Wheeler said."I was given a nice little reprimand this morning for not doing my research properly."

"I gave Robert one of those myself," Linka said, sounding rather pleased about it and not meaning to. "I was very angry with him for not giving me all the information."

"Well you guys were pretty sneaky – we had no idea someone else out there was digging around. And if did my job properly, your boss was at the same disadvantage." He looked at her admiringly. "I wish I could give _my_ boss a reprimand."

She smiled. "He did not like it much. And he did not really deserve it – he would never mean to put me in danger."

Wheeler paused, trying to phrase his next question tactfully. "So your boss – he's a pretty good guy? He looks after you?"

"_Da_, he does." She knew what he was fishing for, and she decided to take pity on him. "I think he would like more than a working relationship," she said slowly, trying to phrase it right. "But I am not interested in him."

Wheeler couldn't hide how pleased he was, and she smiled back at him.

"And you?" she asked, not bothering to be coy about it. "Are you with anyone?"

"No." He hesitated. "There have been a few girls, here and there..."

She felt a spike of jealousy and felt a little shamed by it.

"To be honest," Wheeler said, toying with his fork, "I've never forgotten that we were supposed to go back to Hope Island. I've always thought... always _hoped_ that you would come back and I'd see you again."

She pushed her empty plate away with her fingertips. "That is all I have looked forward to," she said. "Life has not been so good away from Hope Island."

He took her hand again and squeezed it gently. "Why didn't you get in touch?" he asked softly. "When you were ready?"

"I did not think you would want to hear from me," she admitted. "I had not exactly treated you well."

He smiled crookedly at her. "Well, I won't deny that," he said. "But we were different people back then. Younger. Stupid, if I'm brutally honest about myself."

She laughed and shook her head. "Not stupid. Just young. You are right."

Their plates were cleared and their glasses refilled. Wheeler took both her hands across the table and stroked them gently with his thumbs.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"No work?"

She shook her head. "Robert has taken over the Exxlon case."

"He just made you do all the legwork and then handed the results over himself?" Wheeler asked. "Yeah he sounds like a real stand-up guy."

"He is not so bad," Linka said, though she didn't sound too committed to Robert's defence.

"You should stand up for yourself, Linka," Wheeler said. "Five years ago you'd have never stepped back to let someone take all the credit for something you worked so hard at."

"It is not important who gets the credit," she answered patiently. "Just that the job is done."

Wheeler shrugged. "You're looking at it the right way, but he isn't," he said. "It seems unfair that he's the one in charge of you."

"He is not in charge of me," she denied hotly. "We argue all the time."

He chuckled. "I'm glad to see the Linka I know is still in there somewhere. Though I'm also glad she's a just a _little_ less difficult." He laced his fingers through hers and she flushed with pleasure.

"So what have you been doing since I last saw you?" she asked, not wanting to stop talking.

He shrugged. "I tried to patch things up with my family and my friends... but I didn't really have anything in common with anybody back in Brooklyn. I think joining the Planeteers saved my life, you know? I was headed down the wrong road before Gaia called me in..."

"You saw your father?"

"Uh, yeah. He – he died not long after I got back, actually."

"Oh, Wheeler, I am sorry..."

He shook his head. "It was bound to happen. He was – he just drank so much, you know? His liver was just..." He shrugged. "My mother took it pretty hard, in the end. She moved way across the country, actually. Seattle. She's closer to her sister there."

"So it is just you?"

"Just me. I got a job with _Planet Traffic_ and I moved to Manhattan and tried to work hard enough to forget about you."

"Forget me?"

"It was just too hard, Linka," he said softly. "I missed you so much... I couldn't remember who I was any more. And I knew you were taking care of your grandmother and that things weren't going well for you either, but it was awful not hearing back from you."

She blinked back tears. "I am sorry," she said. "I did not mean to hurt you..."

"No, I know," he said softly. "It's okay. I understand. I was just trying to deal with being back where I'd started. It wasn't easy facing such a harsh reality again, and losing you seemed to make it worse."

She managed to get herself under control before her tears ran. "You have not heard from the other Planeteers?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I wasn't that great at keeping in touch. Last I heard, Ma-Ti was studying native medicines in the Amazon, and Kwame was building schools and villages in Kenya. Gi is still in Seoul, I think. I saw her about a year ago."

"You did?"

He nodded. "I was there trying to track down the head of an illegal whale hunt. She helped me out. She asked about you."

"She did?" Linka felt horrendously guilty at losing touch with Gi.

"She was worried about you. I think she's in touch with the others. She's the one who filled me in on their news, anyway. But like I said, that was at least 12 months ago. And I didn't get to see as much of her as I'd hoped. She was pretty busy herself."

"I cannot wait to see her again," Linka said desperately. "Every morning I wake up and it is one day closer to the day Gaia calls us back. Sometimes I worry that it was all just a dream."

"Nah," Wheeler said, grinning at her from across the table. "Dreams aren't as good as all that. Besides – my imagination isn't good enough to dream you up, babe."

"_Bozhe moy_," she muttered. "Enough with the sugar talk, Yankee."

He grinned again, but it was fleeting. "I can't believe I have to go back tomorrow," he said in frustration. "One day with you? That's all I get?"

She shook her head. "And phone calls. And emails. Every day."

He shook his head. "It's still not going to be enough."

She looked down at their hands. He was stroking the inside of her wrist gently with his fingertips, and she was suddenly sure he would be able to feel her pulse quicken.

"It is not much longer before Gaia calls us back," she whispered. "Less than two months. Then we will all be together again. The Planeteers."

He smiled. "I suppose. Though I still haven't figured out what I'm going to say to my boss. 'Hey, sorry, I have to quit because I'm one of five people who can summon this environmental superhero.'"

She giggled. "_Da_. You are our only hope if there is an eco emergency."

He was laughing too, bent over the table, their heads close as they laughed and whispered.

"It'd be easier if Captain Planet just got himself a cell phone," Wheeler whispered.

She giggled helplessly. "Only if he stayed within range. I would not want to hear that error message when I was in a tight spot – would you?"

"You just know he'd be one of those people with a really annoying ringtone, too," Wheeler whispered. "And he'd let it ring so everyone could listen to it for a few seconds first."

"_Da_," she whispered. "And he would ring us and leave silly jokes on our answering machines."

"And it wouldn't be 'By your powers combined'," Wheeler said, his eyes dancing and dangerously close to her own. "It'd be 'You rang?'"

"And we would want to send him back after the first minute or it would get too expensive."

He laughed, and leaned forward and kissed her. Her smile softened and she gazed back at him, flushed with pleasure.

"You're not going to kick me if I ask you to come up to my room, are you?" he asked, his forehead gently pressed against hers. "If you do, make it my right knee. My left one is pretty bruised already."

She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "I would not kick you in front of all these people."

He chuckled. "Come with me, then. I want to get you away from all the other guys in here – some of them haven't stopped staring at you since you walked in."


	5. Chapter 5

**NOTES:** This chapter contains strong adult themes.

* * *

"Your company certainly takes care of you," Linka said, looking around the lavish hotel room.

"Yeah," Wheeler scoffed. "Save the planet and we'll reward you by letting you stay somewhere with a huge carbon footprint." He shrugged out of his jacket and loosened his tie, popping the top couple of buttons on his shirt. "Your company doesn't send you to luxury hotels all over the world?"

"My company is a little less concerned with such things," she said, smiling at him. "If you saw my miserable pay cheque, you would understand."

"You could always come over to our side," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "We have fringe benefits."

She raised her eyebrow back at him. "You do not impress me, Yankee."

He grinned and sank onto the end of the bed. "Make yourself comfortable."

She looked around at his jacket, tie and shoes, scattered haphazardly on the carpet. "Are you suggesting I remove my clothing?" she asked.

"Well I was going to suggest the shoes, but if I get to choose the first item of clothing you remove..."

"_Bozhe moy._" She kicked her shoes off, but couldn't help smiling at him. She crossed to the window, her stockinged feet sinking into the plush carpet. The city was lit up, a light cover of drizzle misting the lights and making everything hazy and soft.

She soon felt Wheeler behind her, his arms circling her waist and his chin on the top of her head.

"How am I gonna go back to New York tomorrow?" he sighed. "I don't want to say goodbye to you again."

"_Nyet_, not goodbye," she murmured, leaning back against him. "We will be together again soon – with the others."

"Is a couple of months soon enough for you?" he asked. He sounded a little disappointed.

She shook her head. "No."

They kissed; slowly this time, her head tipped back against his shoulder and his hands stroking against the smooth material of her dress. Dazed, she wondered why she had resisted for so long. She had not really wanted to – just convinced that it would be a bad idea to bring romance into the group.

He pulled away slowly, but she followed him, turning so she could wrap her arms about his shoulders and press up against him on her tip-toes.

"I've thought about this from the moment I laid eyes on you," he whispered. His fingers disturbed the delicate curls in her long hair, tugging her gently backwards so her back arched and her mouth was lifted up to him.

She didn't want to talk. It seemed like a waste of time when she only had him here for such a brief time. Her fingers scrabbled at the buttons on his shirt, her heart hammering in her chest. Her body sang and screamed at each brush of his hands, her tendons humming as he backed her against the wall and hugged her waist, forcing her up against him. She strained to stay close to him.

Wheeler shrugged out of his shirt and held her face in his hands. "Are you sure?" he whispered. "I'm not gonna want to stop, you know." He grinned, his hands tracing the hourglass curves of her waist and her hips.

"I do not want you to, either," she whispered breathlessly.

His fingers found the tie of her dress at the back of her neck, and tugged it loose so it curled and fell to her waist, baring her skin to him.

She slid her arms around his shoulders and kissed him again, her breath quickening as his hands moved from her hips to her bare breasts. He pressed her against the wall, sandwiching her gently and kissing her with more force.

She tugged her dress down from where it still hugged her waist, and it pooled around her ankles.

"When did you start wearing stockings?" Wheeler breathed, hooking a finger under her satin suspender belt.

"Tonight," she answered, a shy smile on her face.

"Probably just as well it's a recent thing," he murmured, moving his lips over her shoulder. "If you'd worn them when we were Planeteers, I'd never have gotten any work done."

"You found plenty of ways to be distracted," she answered, tugging his undershirt up and over his head. "It never ceased to amaze me."

"And yet you always acted so unimpressed." He grinned and lifted her, hooking his arms under her thighs and shifting so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

They kissed again. Linka could feel each and every nerve in her body reacting, her skin sensitive to each brush of his fingers or press of his lips. She squirmed against him, the wall not giving her enough purchase to move to the extent she wanted to.

He lifted her away, suddenly, his mouth still seeking hers. She squeezed his waist with her legs, her hands buried in his hair.

"I feel like I'm doing this too fast," he gasped, falling with her into the middle of the bed. He nuzzled into her neck, his breathless whispers in her ear and against her skin. "Shouldn't we be taking our time and I can kiss you all over and explore your body and all that sort of stuff...?"

"_Nyet_, shut up," she whispered impatiently, throwing his belt to the floor. "You can do that later."

"Oh, okay."

She rolled him over and tugged at his trousers. She had been with four men – and she had longed for each one to be Wheeler. Or, at the very least, a friend – someone who loved her and would care for her. But in the end, she had simply settled for physical contact. And she had been the one in control each time, in each relationship, no matter how fleeting. She had been on top and she had made the decisions.

Wheeler kicked his trousers off and rolled her over again, and she felt a delightful thrill race up her spine as she realised he wasn't going to let her take charge of _this_.

He unsnapped one of her suspenders, and she arched her hips in an unconscious response.

"You learned to undo suspenders?" she asked, writhing beneath him as he let his fingers brush the surface of her ridiculously brief underwear.

"Tonight," he said in response, his teeth clamping down gently on her earlobe. She felt another suspender slip loose, and another. His hands stroked her thighs, fumbling only slightly as he came across a new strap, before he slipped it free of her stockings. Her suspender belt was soon tugged away from her skin and thrown onto the carpet.

He lifted one of her legs, his fingers racing down the sensitive skin behind her knee and her thigh before slipping under the silky material of her stocking and sliding it off in one slow, smooth movement. He followed with the other stocking and she was left only in her underwear – which may as well have not been there at all. She was sure with one glance he could see everything.

She arched as his fingers slipped beneath the scanty material, her mouth falling open in a noiseless gasp, her hips rotating against him slowly. Words were useless; thought was useless. She was trembling and writhing beneath him, her breath quick and hot against his skin.

He kicked free of his boxers and peeled her underwear down. She was impatient for him, her legs around his waist, and her mouth in constant contact with him – kissing his lips, his face, his throat and shoulders and chest. When he finally slid inside her she shivered and whimpered into his skin, her breath catching as her body pulsed and throbbed beneath him.

She could feel his breath sighing out across her shoulder and her chest, feel his hands still stroking her skin, pinning her to the mattress. He clasped her hand and wound his fingers into her hair, tipping her head back and forcing her to arch, her breasts lifting to meet his mouth and his tongue.

While she could never count her previous experiences as unpleasant, she had never moved like this; never ached to have him back, never whimpered or gasped or pleaded. She matched his strokes, her ankles linked at the small of his back, her hands buried deep in his hair, pulling him close.

She came hard, moments before he did, her cry smothered into his shoulder, their breath damp and heavy between them; shared, as he pressed his forehead against hers, just barely supporting himself above her on trembling arms.

He rolled away slowly, her sweat-dampened skin cooling rapidly as his touch left her. She followed him after a heartbeat or two and found him waiting for her, gathering her into his arms and kissing her softly.

They lay there, getting their breath back, their heartbeats slowing and their skin cooling. She could hear his heart beating beneath her ear as she caught her breath.

She looked up at him and he kissed her smile.


	6. Chapter 6

"The bruise on my knee is significantly worse than this one." Wheeler kissed her shoulder again with a smile.

"That is because I am stronger and smarter than you when it comes to self-defence," Linka said. She smiled up at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Babe, on some level, I'm sure I knew it was you, and so I didn't _really_ mean to cause any damage to you –"

She started giggling. "Sure, Yankee."

He kissed her temple and looked at the clock. "I have to be at the airport in less than twelve hours."

"_Nyet_, do not count," she begged, sitting up a little, the sheet falling against her naked skin. His hand wandered over her stomach and hooked around her waist, pulling her against him again.

It was almost four in the morning – and each of them dreaded the daylight coming.

"If I empty my suitcase do you think you could curl up in it and come back to New York with me?" Wheeler asked, nuzzling her neck.

"That would be a more enticing offer if you offered me the seat beside you," she replied. "But _nyet_, I cannot. I need to go to work on Monday..."

"Nah," he sighed. "Come with me."

She could only smile in response. "Why not stay here with me?"

He looked up at her and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "Would you want me?"

She nodded slowly; seriously.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Are you sure I'm not going to be really annoying? And drive you insane? I used to..."

"_Nyet_, not really. I liked the attention..."

He chuckled. "I wish you'd told me at the time."

"You have changed..."

"In a bad way?"

"No." She kissed him softly. "Good. And you were not bad before, either. I think you were like most teenage boys when they try to impress a girl."

"Well the girl I was trying to impress was not like any other teenage girl," he said, his hands wandering over her back as she looked down at him. "You know every time I was having a bad day, or when work got really hard, or things just..." He shook his head and sighed. "All I could think was 'It's not enough yet.' And I'd get up and I'd work harder so the next time I saw you, I'd be enough for you."

"Wheeler..." She stroked his hair back from his forehead gently. "You were always enough... I was just too afraid of it all going wrong."

"Are you still afraid of that?"

She thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "We have known each other for a long time now... And we have lasted this long."

He smiled and her heart flipped over in response.

"So you could stay with me," she prompted again. "Here in London? Until we go back to Hope Island?"

He hesitated. "Babe, I'd be here in a flash, okay? If I could."

"If you could?"

"I'm contracted to stay on until the end of March. I – I don't think I can get out of it. And there are things I've gotta do in New York."

She lowered her forehead to his. "_Da_, I know," she sighed.

"We'll be back on Hope Island soon," he murmured.

She nodded, and smiled. "I cannot wait to see the others. I have missed them all so much..." She looked worried for a moment, and traced a small pattern on his chest with her finger. "Do you think they will want to come back? Gaia gave us five years to decide... Five years to follow our own passions. What if they decide they like their own lives now? What if they do not want to dedicate themselves to the Planeteers again?"

"I'm not sure," Wheeler said eventually. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?"

She nodded and put her head down on his shoulder. "I suppose so."

* * *

Linka stirred and blinked sleepily, until she saw the daylight pouring in the window, raindrops still glittering on the pane.

"_Chyort voz'mi_..." She sat upright. "Why did you let me fall asleep?"

"You looked cute." Wheeler yawned. "Still do." He tugged at the sheet and ran his hand over the smooth skin of her back. "And don't swear in my bed."

She raised her eyebrow. "You think I am swearing?"

"_Chyort voz'mi_," he murmured, his eyes closed. "Some of the first words I heard you say. Of course I looked them up."

She smiled, her face flushed. "It is not bad..."

He grinned, his fingers tracking slow patterns over her skin. "Not bad. I'd love to know what words you were moaning last night, though."

She smacked him lightly, her face red, and he chuckled and kissed her hand. "Do you have to be somewhere?"

"_Nyet_, I just did not want to fall asleep. It feels like wasted time..."

"Not for me. I spent a good couple of hours just staring at you."

"That is perverted."

He laughed and rolled onto her, pinning her into the mattress, linking his fingers into hers and trapping her hands above her head. "Just watching you sleep is perverted?"

"Maybe I used the wrong word."

He lifted his eyebrow and bent to suck lightly on her lower lip. "You want me to describe some of the dreams I've had about you? It'll totally make you think again about your definition of the word 'perverted'."

"I think I can live without it, thank you." She wrapped her legs around his waist.

He bent to kiss her. "I'll show you, then."

She arched beneath him, not bothering with any pretences of protest.

* * *

"You have to go..."

"Yeah..."

She was shivering. She was still in her dress from last night, and the sky was overcast and the wind was icy, but she didn't want to move. They were in front of Wheeler's hotel, and they were about to part.

"You will miss your flight."

He tightened his arms around her waist, his forehead resting against hers. "Be worth it," he whispered.

She reached up and kissed him, feeling close to tears. "I do not want you to go."

"I'm gonna call as soon as I land in New York, I promise," he said. "And we'll see each other soon."

She nodded. "_Da_, I know."

The cab driver was looking impatient, and Wheeler opened the door and backed Linka closer. "In you get," he whispered. "I'll see you soon, babe."

"Not soon enough." Tears finally fell and she gazed up at him without shame.

He kissed her gently. "I love you. Okay?"

She smiled, and buried her face in his neck. "_Da_, okay. I love you too." She could feel him smile, his breath warm in her ear.

"I'll see you soon."

She nodded, unable to speak in case she started sobbing.

* * *

She swung her front gate open wearily, turning her keys in her hand.

"Linka?"

She looked up in surprise, and stopped when she saw Robert sitting on her front step.

"Robert, what are you doing here?"

"I tried calling yesterday afternoon and you never answered me."

"I was busy." She wasn't in the mood for this. She wanted to go inside and curl up into a ball and cry. She wanted to watch the clock until it hit the exact minute Wheeler landed in New York, and she wanted to search through and remember each precious second of the night before.

"I can see that." He was looking at her with a surprisingly icy expression, his eyes raking over her.

"Could you get out of my way, please?" she asked in irritation. "I am tired and you are blocking my door."

"Who were you out with?"

"None of your business," she snapped.

He got to his feet, looking annoyed. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at her in frustration. "Why didn't you answer my calls?" he asked. His voice was icy-calm, as though he was trying very hard to control it.

"I told you, I was busy." She shouldered her way past him and scrabbled her key into the lock.

"So busy you couldn't answer the phone?"

Linka looked over her shoulder at him. "I do not owe you any explanation," she said. "It was Saturday afternoon. I do not have to be at work until Monday." Gooseflesh had risen on her arms and she wanted to get inside and get warm.

"Like that, is it?"

She stepped inside and felt him behind her, trying to follow her.

"Don't," she said. She was close to tears – she'd had little sleep and the past week would have been stressful enough without the added trauma of having to say goodbye to Wheeler.

"Linka for God's sake," Robert said, tugging her arm and spinning her around to face him. "Can you please stop this stupid game?"

"What game?" she asked tiredly. "I am not playing games with you, Robert."

He stepped back and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I want you in my office on Monday," he said eventually. "First thing. Understand?"

"_Da_, I understand," she snapped. "I had an appointment with you at nine o'clock anyway, if you remember."

"Well the situation has changed," he spat. "We're a small company, Linka. Gossip spreads fast, and you've been out fucking around with the Vice President of _Planet Traffic_, from what I hear_._ Don't think I'm going to take _that_ lying down, you deceitful bitch."

She slammed the door in his face and slid the bolt across. "_Mudak_!" she screamed, punching the door. She saw him glare back at the house, but he didn't turn around and walk back – instead choosing to stalk up the road, his face sour.

She stripped out of her dress and stockings and shrugged into a robe, reluctant to shower because she could still feel Wheeler's touch and smell his scent on her skin.

She curled up on the couch in front of the television, flicking through the stations without seeing anything. There had been an oil spill and she found herself half-watching the story and daydreaming about how she would be able to clear it up in moments once she and the Planeteers were back together again.

58 days. She had counted. She had it marked on the calendar. In 58 days, it would be exactly five years since she had left Hope Island. It hadn't been an easy day. It had been awful saying goodbye, but Gaia had encouraged them gently, ensuring them all that she would call again in 5 years, and if they wanted to come back, they could. The whole point of leaving, she had said, was to really understand just what being a Planeteer would involve. Maybe they wanted to get married one day. Maybe they wanted children, or a different career. Those things would all be harder as a Planeteer. Being a Planeteer took up a lifetime.

So Gaia had given them five years. Five years to explore other options, to take a breath and decide what they wanted more: an endless fight for the planet, or a life of their own.

Linka rubbed at the tears on her face. She felt fractured without the other Planeteers. She had returned home and found that her anger and protest over environmental destruction would not be heard. She was too young and pretty and, in the eyes of those she was standing up to, pathetic. Too alone. She had always believed that one person could make a difference, but alone, she was defeated. She had turned her attention closer to home – and her grandmother's cancer had quickly pushed all other matters aside.

She rolled over, her jaw still tense as a result of her conversation with Robert. The flowers Wheeler had sent her sat in a vase on her kitchen table. She gazed at them, her thoughts lost and wandering, lone images entering her mind and cementing themselves as a sharp montage of memory and longing.

Her dress on the store mannequin.

The soft glide of the stockings as she pulled them on.

The bounce and gleaming curl of her hair.

Wheeler's gaze flicking lustfully from her shoes to her eyes.

The clean, strong line of his jaw in the dim light of the restaurant.

The warm glow of wine and polished cutlery.

His hands roaming slowly over her body in the dark, rain beating the windows and flooding the street with a soft hush as he whispered to her, kissed her, pressed his mouth and his body against her skin and sweetly loved her.

Her phone rang. She answered it halfway through the second ring, too distracted to realise Wheeler would be boarding his plane and unable to call her.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Oh, Caitlin."

"I wanted to warn you that Robert is hunting for you. He's – he's a bit... peeved."

Linka sank back into the sofa and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You told him?"

"He asked where you were. I said you were catching up with a friend for dinner. Nothing more." Caitlin sighed. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, but he wouldn't let up. He'd been hunting for you all day and you were avoiding him..."

"_Da_, it is okay, Caitlin." Linka chewed her lip. "He accused me of..." She shook her head slightly. "_Nyet_, never mind. He is not thinking very clearly. I need to speak to him tomorrow."

"About the Exxlon case?"

"Nyet." She paused. Caitlin was her friend. She was also a gossip. But a friend, first. "I am leaving," she said.

"Leaving?"

"I am obligated to give six weeks notice," Linka said. "I must do it tomorrow."

"But why? Where are you going?"

Linka shook her head. "I cannot go into that right now."

"Linka are you going over to _Planet Traffic_? Are you following Wheeler?"

"_Nyet_, it is not so political," Linka said patiently. "I have been thinking of this for a long time. Planning this. It is time, that is all."

Caitlin paused. "You'll be at work tomorrow?"

"_Da_, we will talk then."

"And your date with Wheeler?"

Linka smiled. "We can talk about that, too."

Caitlin laughed. "Oh, I'm sensing it was good. I have to go, anyway. I'm in the office – on a Sunday, of all days. Have you seen that oil spill? I think it's related to a case I thought was closed..."

"Have fun," Linka murmured, not in a very chatty mood. "I will see you tomorrow."

Caitlin sighed. "Yeah. Bye. And I'm sorry, again. About Robert. I should have known better."

"_Nyet_, do not worry. I will see you tomorrow."

Linka tossed the phone aside and curled up again. She had a headache. She wanted to sleep, and more than anything, she wanted it to be beside Wheeler.

* * *

She was dozing when her cell phone rang. She jerked awake and fumbled with it. "Hello?"

"It took you like seven seconds to answer that," Wheeler said, sounding weary but cheerful. "You can't be missing me too much."

"Not true," she sighed, settling back into the cushions and closing her eyes. "I have had a headache since you left."

"No heartache?"

"It is all over me," she said, smiling. "How was your flight?"

"Long," he sighed. "Bad weather kept us circling for ages. I'm guessing it's an un-godly hour of the morning there."

"It is okay," she answered. "I wanted you to call. Actually, it is not that long before I normally wake to go to work."

"What's your day look like, Linka?" he asked.

"It is rainy," she sighed. "And today I have to give my six weeks notice. I do not think Robert will take it well."

"Do you need me to come over there and rough him up for you?" Wheeler asked, putting a gruff growl into his voice.

She laughed. "_Nyet_, I do not think that will be necessary. Thank you."

"So the day ahead is a bit of a bleak one?"

"_Da_, a little. And your day?"

"Well I'm hoping to catch some Z's first," he said. "But then I have to go in and explain to my boss face-to-face why a beautiful Russian overpowered me and beat me to bring down the company I've been researching for the past six months."

She laughed. "You will be in trouble?"

"Not too much. He's a jerk but I'm his second-in-command and he tries to keep our relationship fairly friendly."

"I had not pinned you as somebody so well adapted to office life," Linka said.

"Neither had I. It's luck, I think – and the fact that I had nothing but work to distract me for five years. When you work that hard to forget someone, you can rise through the ranks pretty quickly."

"And you are willing to give it up to come back to Hope Island?"

"I'd do it tomorrow," he promised.

She heard him stifle a yawn.

"You should go, Yankee. Get some sleep."

"I guess." He paused. "You know I miss you even more, now? I hadn't thought that possible, but here we are."

"I miss you too," she sighed. "I will email you from work. I am sure I'll need something to distract me."

"I'll look forward to it," he answered. "Though, my main source of distraction will be thinking about you naked."

"Wheeler!"

"There it is!" he teased. "My mind is in high-definition, babe. I can see _everything._"

She felt her face flame with embarrassment, but she laughed. "Go to sleep, Yankee."

"Talk to you later?"

"_Da_, later. Sleep well, won't you?"

"I'll be dreaming of you." He paused for a brief second. "Love you."

She smiled, and spoke without hesitation, warm at the thought of him. "I love you."

"Have a good day, babe."

"You too."

There was a momentary pause before he finally sighed, softly. "Bye, Linka."

She bit her lip, her heart pulsing painfully. "Goodbye."


	7. Chapter 7

Linka stood opposite Robert's desk and tried to resist grinding her teeth. He had ordered her in, and they were alone with the door closed, but he was ignoring her purposefully, scrolling through his emails.

She waited patiently, not wanting to give in to him and speak first.

"Sit." He did not look at her as he spoke.

She sat opposite him, her knees together and her hands clasped tightly on her lap.

"I want you to tell me what you were doing at _Planet Traffic _on Saturday." He sat back and tented his fingers, regarding her seriously across the desk.

She flinched. "What?"

"You thought I wouldn't find out? I've been talking with their company president very closely the past couple of days. I told you, he's irate that we released the findings from the Exxlon case before he did. He's got someone from their New York office working on it and he's been sending me a few aggressive emails and berating me on the phone. And Saturday night he happened to call and tell me one of my employees – _my_ employees, Linka – had been by his London office Saturday morning." He leaned back in his chair, his gaze steady. "That would be you?"

Linka held his gaze. "_Da_, it was me."

"And what the hell were you doing in their office?" His voice was dangerously quiet.

She raised her chin, glaring at him defiantly, and borrowing a phrase he had thrust at her the previous afternoon. "Fucking around with the Vice President," she said evenly.

Robert's jaw tightened. "Do you think this is funny?"

"I think you are letting your own emotions get in the way of this," Linka answered. "Robert, we are friends. We see each other outside of work and maybe that is not a good thing. But you should know I would never put this company in danger." She looked at him pleadingly, but his expression didn't change.

"Do you know how humiliating it was, getting that phone call?" he asked. "A guy in New York – _New York_, Linka – rings to tell me a pretty little blonde declaring herself to be from _Earth & Air_ made her way into his London office to 'help' them tidy up the Exxlon case."

She shook her head. "_Nyet_, it was not like that –"

Robert slammed his fist onto his desk and she jumped, her heart pounding.

"I stuck up for you," he hissed. "I tried to laugh it off because I didn't think you'd be so stupid as to go into their headquarters and _help_ them, for fuck's sake."

She could feel her fingers trembling and she willed them to stop, annoyed that her body was betraying her by displaying fear at his outburst.

He leaned back in his chair again, glaring at her. "Humiliated," he said softly.

She raised her eyes to him again. "Like their president was humiliated when you rang him to brag about _Earth & Air_ beating _Planet Traffic_ to release the results of the Exxlon case?"

For a moment she feared he would strike her. He leapt to his feet and she did the same, automatically positioning herself defensively.

"Get the fuck out," he said. "You're fired."

"Fired?"

"For going behind my back and leaking our company details and secrets to another."

"I did no such thing!" she said with rage.

"Out. Before I call security."

She clenched her teeth and felt bitter tears welling up in her eyes. "You are doing this because I went on a date last night. You are doing this because I rejected you."

He simply stared back at her icily.

"Fine," she said, straightening her shoulders. "I was coming to give you notice anyway. I am leaving. But you have made it easy for me." She pushed her chair in and looked at him again, feeling a loss that went deeper than her job. She felt as though she had lost a friend, too.

"Goodbye, Robert," she muttered. "I am sorry you felt the need to bring your personal feelings into this."

"Don't flatter yourself, honey," he spat.

She simply shook her head and left his office, closing the door quietly behind her.

* * *

"Are you drunk?" Wheeler's voice sounded highly amused.

"I am not," Linka said immediately. Breathlessly. She cupped her hand over her eyes as though that would stop the world spinning.

"You are, aren't you?"

"A little," she answered, pinching her thumb and her forefinger together as though to indicate her level of intoxication to him over the phone.

"I hope you're being careful, babe."

She could still hear the smile in his voice, but her stomach plummeted and she realised calling him in this state was probably not the best idea. She knew he tended to avoid alcohol, and she was suddenly disappointed in herself.

"I am being careful," she said, speaking carefully so she could get all of her words out clearly. "Caitlin took me to a bar."

"Girl's night out?"

She could hear the shuffle of papers and realised he was still at work.

"Not really," she said, easing herself down onto the curb. It was drizzling and her hair was starting to curl. "I got fired today."

"You what?"

"Robert fired me." She suddenly felt utterly miserable, her mood plummeting. "He thinks I gave your company information."

"Oh, shit. Oh, babe, I'm sorry."

"_Nyet_, it is okay." She took a breath. "I was going to leave anyway."

"Still," he said sympathetically. "Not the best way to leave things, is it?"

She simply shook her head, her eyes swimming.

"He sounded like a jerk anyway."

She thought for a moment and then nodded slowly. "_Da_, he was. I do not think he fired me for visiting _Planet Traffic._ I think he fired me for visiting you."

"Significant difference, is there?"

She nodded again, staring down at her feet. It was cold and she vaguely thought she should get into a cab and go home, but she stayed where she was.

"Would it help if I called him?" Wheeler asked. "Called him and explained to him you didn't pass on any company information or anything like that?"

"_Nyet_, forget it," she said tiredly.

"Are you sure?" He sounded worried.

"_Da_, I am sure. I should not have called you... not like this."

He laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you did. Are you having a good time out with Caitlin?"

"I was," Linka answered distractedly. "She has gone home with someone she met here so I think I will get a taxi and go home."

"She left you there alone?"

"There are people," she said. "I can look after myself, Yankee."

"I know, babe," he said gently. "But you've been drinking."

"I am not that bad." She rested her forehead on her knees. She _was_ that bad. She cursed herself for drinking so much. She cursed herself for calling Wheeler. As far as she could remember, she had only ever seen him drink alcohol once – and that was at dinner the other night, with her.

"Are you angry?" she whispered.

"What? No. Why?"

She shrugged, forgetting again that he couldn't see her.

"Linka?"

"I need to go to bed," she said. "I just need a taxi. And you are still at work."

"Catching up on the wonderful paperwork I missed when I was in London," he sighed. "Are you okay, babe?"

"_Da_, I am okay."

"Really?"

She nodded and swallowed, getting to her feet, her eyes unusually bright as she fought back tears. She held her arm aloft and waved down a taxi.

"Taxi," she explained to Wheeler, her voice a soft gasp.

"Call me in the morning. I don't care what time it is. Call me."

"_Da_, I will." She sank into the back seat of the taxi and murmured her address, but kept the phone close.

"It'll be okay, babe."

She nodded. "I know."

"Get some sleep. You've had a full week, and then a late night out with an idiot American."

She smiled in spite of herself. "A night I will not forget."

"Yeah, he won't either," Wheeler murmured.

"He is not such an idiot," she said, leaning her head against the cool window of the taxi. "I like him."

He laughed. "He likes you too. He's crazy about you, in fact."

"Mm," Linka sighed.

"Are you nearly home?"

"Five minutes."

He stayed on the phone with her, chatting about how cold it was in his office and the mountain of paperwork he had to get through. He made jokes about hiring her as a secretary, and worked out on his calculator the number of hours until they could get back to Hope Island. She listened to his voice and cried silently because she missed him so much and she was embarrassed by her behaviour.

She passed a handful of crumpled notes over to the driver and made it to her front door as Wheeler was describing his most recent troubles with the photocopier.

"Home," she said simply, sinking to the floor and pressing her back against the door.

"Safe and sound," he sighed.

"I can take care of myself." She was not so sure.

"I know you can – I have the bruises to remind me."

She smiled and wiped her eyes. "You should get back to work."

"And you should go to bed."

She heard his chair creak as he leaned back, and she could almost see him, the phone pinned between his shoulder and his cheek, a sheaf of papers in his hands as he moved to put his feet up on his desk.

"_Da_, I will go to bed. Do not stay at work too long, Yankee. You are tired, too."

"I'll be out of here soon." He paused, as though he knew tears were brimming on her lashes again. "Don't worry, babe, it'll all be okay," he said softly. "Get some sleep and things will look better in the morning."

"_Da_," she whispered. "I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

"I shouldn't have left you there alone when you were so upset," Caitlin said, looking horrendously guilty. "It was your last night and it had been an awful day and I left to hook up with a guy who really, really wasn't worth it..." She was in a dark suit, ready to go to work. Linka was showered, her hair still wet, pouring coffee into a large mug.

"I am okay, Caitlin," she said, shooting her friend a smile.

Caitlin glanced into the bedroom. "What about the suitcases? You're going somewhere?"

"_Da_, I am in the middle of packing." Linka sipped her coffee and leaned against the kitchen countertop.

"When do you leave?"

Linka glanced at the print-out on her kitchen table. "In a few hours."

Caitlin looked crestfallen, and Linka was the one to feel guilty now.

"Caitlin," she whispered, "I am sorry it all turned out this way."

"Could you not just call Robert and ask him to change his mind?"

"_Nyet_, there is no point. I was leaving in six weeks anyway."

Caitlin sighed and wrapped her arms around her friend. "It's all so soon, that's all. I wish you'd told me earlier."

"I am sorry," Linka answered, hugging her friend tightly. "But this is for the best."

"I don't think I'll ever forgive Robert for this," Caitlin mumbled. "I thought we were all friends."

"_Da_, me too." Linka kissed her cheek and smiled gently. "You are going to be late."

"What am I going to do without you at work?" Caitlin asked helplessly. "You're the one who helps me out when I'm stuck. You're the most passionate one of us there. You take the jobs nobody else wants because you're always looking at the greater good..."

Linka smiled and shrugged. "Somebody else will come along."

Caitlin sighed and hugged her again. "You'd better keep in touch."

"I will," Linka promised.

* * *

Linka answered her phone on the first ring. "Did you get my email?" she asked with a smile.

"I did," Wheeler answered. "How's your head?"

She picked at a loose thread on the bottom of her shirt. "My head is fine. I am so sorry about last night, Wheeler..."

"No, don't be. I'm glad you called me. And you said you'd call me again when you woke up, remember?"

"It would have been too early for you," she answered desperately. "So you got an email instead..."

He chuckled. "Okay babe, you're forgiven."

"I _am_ sorry though," she continued, guilt driving her on. "I did not think I had quite so much to drink... and then I just – I know how you feel about it and you never drink..." She was babbling, and he cut her off gently.

"I do," he said. "I don't like what it did to my dad, and I don't think – I hope – it won't ever do it to me... but if I refuse to drink it's still got control over me..."

"_Da_, Wheeler, I know," she whispered, wanting him to know she understood.

"Anyway, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

"How is your day?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Not bad. Still trying to get through a mountain of paperwork, and people keep pulling me in and out of meetings. I'm getting anxious to leave."

"Reject your boss romantically," she muttered. "That should work."

He chuckled. "Please, babe. I'm way out of his league – he won't even try."

She giggled, and looked up at the departure board. She still had half an hour.

"I want to send you something," she said. "What is your address?"

He rattled it off to her and she scribbled it down in the back of her paperback novel.

"What are you sending me?" he asked.

"It is a surprise."

"I'm not a big fan of surprises."

"You will like this one," she promised.

"I hope so. Babe, I have to go. I'm not very good at hiding, and they've found me and they want me to go to a meeting about some sort of illegal mining operation."

"Fun." She smiled. "I miss you."

"You have no idea," he sighed. "Everything is taking me twice as long because I can't stop thinking about pretty Russian women."

"Women? Plural?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Woman," he corrected. "A woman."

She laughed. "Go back to work. I will talk to you later."

"Bye babe. Glad you're feeling better. Love you."

"_Da_, love you," she answered. She hung up and got to her feet, heading for the gate that would fly her from London, to Wheeler.


	8. Chapter 8

Linka checked her watch, but it was still on London time. She had not considered arriving at Wheeler's apartment before he finished work, but the flight had landed early thanks to clear weather, and traffic had been light. She was sure he'd be working late again and she didn't want to be waiting around in the corridor all evening.

She left her bags with the doorman downstairs and asked for directions to _Planet Traffic._

"Oh, it's just a short walk from here. It's on the other side of the street, four or five blocks down. It's a big glass building – you won't miss it." He smiled at her and she thanked him and headed out into the late-afternoon sunlight. Dirty snow was crusted in the gutters, but the sun felt pleasantly warm on her face, and she felt lighter and happier than she had been in years. She hurried along, her heart racing.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Armstrong has been in meetings all afternoon," the receptionist replied smoothly, looking at Linka with an infuriatingly superior air. "He'll be unavailable for the rest of the day, but I can take a message for you and leave it with his secretary tomorrow morning."

"_Nyet_, that will not be necessary," Linka sighed. She backed away, chewing her lip, not ready to give up yet. The receptionist turned back to her computer, ignoring Linka and trying to look busy.

Linka glanced around and, making sure nobody was watching, slipped into a nearby corridor. She hurried along, glancing left and right until she came to a dark office. She slipped inside and booted up the computer, waiting patiently and keeping a sharp ear out for any approaching footsteps.

In less than 20 keystrokes she was in their system, and three minutes later, the computer was off and she was in the elevator on her way up to Wheeler's office, having discovered exactly where he was. She stepped off the elevator nervously.

The secretary's desk was empty – she had obviously gone home for the day. Several of the nearest offices were dark, and she could hear voices as other employees bid each other good night and prepared to leave for the day.

Linka found the door labelled _Vice President_ and knocked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

She opened the door with a smile. Wheeler was standing by the window, his jacket slung over the back of his chair and his tie loose and askew around his throat. His shirt sleeves were rolled up and he looked tired – until he saw her.

"Linka..."

She smiled and he grinned back at her and crossed the room quickly, gathering her into his arms and kissing her.

"You're right, I do like this surprise," he murmured, kissing her forehead.

"Me too," she sighed, slipping her arms around his neck.

He kissed her again and stomach swirled with a flutter of butterflies.

"You know, I thought I loved you this morning," he murmured, "but it's nothing to what I'm feeling for you right now."

She laughed and shook her head. "Enough flattering, Yankee. Do you have to be here much longer?"

He glanced at his watch. "No." He kissed her again. "Let me grab my jacket and we can be out of here in five minutes."

He shrugged into his jacket and shut his computer off, glancing around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

"Quick, let's get out of here before I'm cornered into another meeting," he whispered, grabbing her hand.

She giggled and followed him to the elevator, her fingers laced through his.

"Nick, can you sign this?"

Wheeler turned and caught sight of one of the accountants. "What is it?"

"Just an expense form." He held it up so Wheeler could see it and he scribbled his name across the bottom.

"Have a good night." The accountant whistled as he walked away.

"Nick?" Linka squinted up at him.

Wheeler rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "It was my dad's name as well. I've never liked to use it."

"You never told me."

He shrugged. "You know now."

Sensing his discomfort, she squeezed his hand and leaned her head against his arm, not pushing the subject. Wheeler's relationship with his father had been a tense one, and she could understand why he had never wanted to use the name given to him by the man who had been so violent and drunk.

He kissed the top of her head and they entered the elevator as it finally chimed open. He jabbed the button for the ground floor and slipped his arms around Linka's waist.

"Can you forget you heard that?" he mumbled.

"_Nyet_, I am glad I know your name," she murmured, stretching up to kiss him. "The exact same name as your father?"

"Nick – Nicholas – was actually my dad's second name," he said, staring somewhere over her head to avoid eye contact. "It's just the name he went by a lot of the time."

Linka leaned a little more weight against him. "It is just a name," she said. "You can do with it what you will. Besides, it is common to be named after your father. Mishka is named after our father." She hugged him tightly. "You are still my Wheeler."

He grinned and touched his nose to hers. "You don't have any name surprises up your sleeve, do you?"

"Polina Mikhailovna Vetrova," she answered, tipping her head back to see his reaction.

He quirked his eyebrow at her. "Are you swearing at me again?"

"_Nyet_. Just pointing out you could not spell my full name if you tried," she said, smirking a little.

"I don't doubt that." His hand wandered under the hem of her shirt and brushed the skin of her lower back. He kept his eyes trained on the declining floor numbers.

She took his hand suddenly and shook it with a sly grin. "It is nice to meet you, Nicholas."

He groaned. "Bitch."

She laughed, taking a rather dark delight in his discomfort. "Your full name is Nicholas Armstrong? You do not have a middle name?"

"Jordan," he sighed, burying his face in her neck. "Curiosity satisfied?"

"For now." She hugged him back. They were slowly nearing the bottom floor and she was a little sorry for it. It was nice being shut in such a cosy place with him for a while.

"Where did Linka come from, then?"

"Polina. Linka is the short version. Linka is prettier."

"Polina is pretty, too. Anyway, you'd be pretty no matter what your name was."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "And Wheeler is your nickname?"

"Mm."

"It did not come from your last name?"

"Armstrong? No. If I had a nickname descending from Armstrong, it'd be The Hulk."

"I am not calling you that," she said, pressing her cheek against his shoulder.

He chuckled. "I don't really remember where Wheeler came from, babe. Something to do with a skateboard, I think."

They parted reluctantly as the elevator stopped at the ground floor, and walked through the foyer hand-in-hand.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"_Da_, I am. I have not eaten for hours."

"Starving? Or can you wait another hour or so?"

She looked at him curiously. "I can wait."

He grinned. "Good. I'm cooking for you."

"I hope you have improved since the last time you tried to cook for me," she said, remembering a bowl of undercooked rice and over-cooked beef during their days on Hope Island.

"So do I," he said, leading her out into the evening light.

* * *

They had eaten (each of them going back for seconds) and were dozing lazily in front of the television, naked and tangled together beneath a woollen blanket on the couch.

Wheeler was stroking her hair lightly, his fingers caressing her blonde curls, and she was almost asleep.

"Tired babe?"

"Mm," she sighed. "I think everything has finally caught up with me."

"Tell me about it," he sighed. "Hope Island is going to feel like a holiday."

She rolled over and buried her face against his shoulder. "_Nyet_, do not forget how hard we worked..."

"But it was together," he murmured. "The five of us."

She nodded, too comfortable and sleepy to answer vocally.

* * *

She jerked awake, disorientated, her heart racing thanks to the blaring alarm.

Wheeler flicked it off and rolled over, draping his arm across her. "Morning," he smiled.

"Good morning." She raked her fingers through her hair, looking around in confusion. "I do not remember going to bed."

"You fell asleep on the couch," he murmured, his eyes closed and his hand gently stroking the bare skin of her hip beneath the blankets. "I carried you in and you slept right through until my alarm rudely interrupted you."

"Mm," she said, wriggling up close to him. "Are you sure you need it to go off so early?"

"I usually go for a run," he said, glancing to the window. The sky outside was only just beginning to lighten, grey clouds a solid blanket across the city.

"Will we both go?" she asked, sitting up.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Sure."

* * *

They kept pace together, chatting occasionally, but mostly just focusing on their breathing and the sound of their feet hitting the sidewalk. They passed other couples, dogs, newspaper vendors. The park smelled of slightly bitter fumes, cold air, wet leaves and rain.

"Do you have another busy day today?" Linka asked as Wheeler's apartment building came back into view.

"Uh-huh." He looked down at her. "You're not going to be too bored, are you?"

She shook her head. "I will find something to do."

They slowed to a walk and crossed the street, breathing heavily.

"I wish I didn't have to work."

"I do not expect you to take time off for me," Linka said. "We will be working together again soon."

He caught her hand in his. "Yeah I know." He smiled down at her. "I'm handing my notice in at the end of this week."

She smiled back in response. It was another step closer to Hope Island and the other Planeteers.

They showered, and Wheeler was running rather late when they eventually emerged into the kitchen fully dressed.

He grabbed his jacket. "Make yourself at home, babe," he said. "And there's a lot to see around here if you want to go for a wander and do some sight-seeing."

"_Da_, maybe." She smiled and reached up to kiss him goodbye.

"Oh, and I forgot – there's a surprise for you in the top drawer of my desk. Okay?" He winked at her and kissed the end of her nose. "Bye."

She waved to him and closed the door, feeling lonely, but a little distracted by the thought of a secret. She hurried into his study and sat at his desk, smiling as she saw the photograph of the Planeteers during their last week on Hope Island. She picked it up and looked at it, the secret in the drawer momentarily forgotten as she gazed at the photo of herself taken five years ago.

"Linka," she sighed. "If only you knew what was going to happen to you. You would have clung to that island with both hands."

They all looked so young. And so much had happened since then. She shook her head with wonder at the things they had achieved together, and her heart soared at the thought of what was still left for them. She put the photo back with a smile, and reached for the drawer.

It was an envelope with her name on it. She lifted the flap – it wasn't sealed – and blinked back tears when she saw what it was.

Gi's telephone number and address in Seoul. Wheeler had found it and intended to pass it on to her so she could contact her friend.

Her heart raced and she looked at the clock. It would be 11 o'clock at night in Seoul. Was that too late to call? She crossed her fingers and hoped not. Before she could get too nervous and back out of it, Linka picked up the phone and dialled.


	9. Chapter 9

"_Yobosayo_."

"Hello? Gi?"

"Yes?"

She could recognise the voice as though she had heard it yesterday. "Gi! It..." Linka swallowed and tried to stem her excitement. "It is Linka!"

There was a squeal. "Linka?"

"_Da_! Oh, it is so good to hear your voice," Linka said excitedly. "I have missed you so much. I am so sorry I never kept in touch..."

"No, no it's fine!" Gi sounded just as excited. "How have you been? I heard about your grandmother – I'm so sorry. That must have been hard."

"_Da_, it was. But I am sure she is in a better place."

"Me too," Gi said warmly. "Wow, I've missed you. I've been thinking of you a lot lately – I guess because it's almost been five years and the Planeteers are something I need to think about again."

"I know," Linka answered. "And – and you will be coming back?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Gi said. "I've been looking forward to it like you wouldn't believe. I'm so sick of working in laboratories."

"You went back to marine biology?" Linka asked, remembering the wishes Gi had expressed in their final days on Hope Island.

"Yes – but I'm in Seoul so I travel back and forth to the coast a lot. Which I'd do anyway. I can't really stand being away from the beach for too long. It's just easier to do all the academic stuff in Seoul. What have you been doing? I can't believe you called me! Do you know how much I missed you?"

Linka laughed as Gi babbled on. "_Da_, Gi, I have missed you too. I am so sorry I never got in touch with you again. Or the others." Her voice softened with guilt and sadness.

"You're not in touch with them? I talk to Kwame a lot."

"You do?" Linka's heart leapt. She had not seen or spoken to Kwame at all since leaving Hope Island. "Is he okay? What is he doing?"

"He's working for a charity in Kenya, building villages. Schools and houses, and that sort of thing. He really loves it – he says it's really rewarding. I visited him about three years ago. It was amazing. He's working really hard."

"I can imagine." Linka suddenly felt close to tears. She felt closer to the others than she had in a long time – just hearing about them prompted so many memories. "Is he coming back to Hope Island?"

"I was talking to him last Friday – he mentioned the date must be getting close. I think he's planning on coming back..." Gi's voice trailed off a little.

"Gi?"

"Well, I've never actually asked. But – but I think he wants to come back."

To quell the sick feeling in her stomach, Linka enquired about Ma-Ti.

"Sometimes Ma-Ti is hard to get hold of," Gi explained. "He's in remote areas a lot of the time. He's back with his tribe, learning about native medicines. He's hard to track down but I'm sure he wants to become a Planeteer again. In his last letter..." She trailed off again, and then laughed.

"What is it?" Linka asked nervously.

"Sometimes I think he has enough power without his ring," Gi sighed. "In his last letter he asked me to pass his love on to you."

Tears really did spill over this time, but they were quiet and calm. Linka laughed a little and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Does he talk of me often?"

"Not really – this seemed really out of the ordinary and I thought it was a bit weird at the time... I'm sure he knew you were coming back."

"Of course I am coming back," Linka said softly.

"Not just coming back to the Planeteers," Gi explained. "Coming back to _us._ All of a sudden you're back on his radar again."

"I have been thinking of you all so much, lately," Linka admitted. "The past few weeks have been so difficult, and Hope Island is all I have looked forward to in the past five years. I have missed you all so much."

"Well you know, we all missed you too," Gi said, and her voice had become a little teasing. "Especially one certain _Yankee._"

Linka giggled and wiped her eyes again, the silent tears refusing to stop. She supposed it was an outpouring of relief. "_Da_, I know he has missed me. I missed him, too. But we have been making up for lost time."

"You've spoken to him?" Gi asked in amazement. "When? I spoke to him a few weeks ago and he didn't mention anything."

Linka wished she could see her friend's reaction. "I am staying with him in New York at the moment."

Gi squealed, and the line crackled with various exclamations of amazement and happiness. "I swear I'd made up my mind to hunt you down, just to get that silly, miserable look off his face," she said eventually. "I don't think his feelings have changed, Linka. When I saw him – for the first time in four years, mind you – all he could talk about was you."

Linka could only blush and bite her lip.

"We both really missed you," she said softly. "I know you were busy, Linka, and things were hard, but it hurt losing you like that. Wheeler really struggled."

"_Da_, I know," she whispered. "I am so sorry, Gi."

"No, don't apologise. It's okay. And is he happier now? He was totally miserable when he realised I didn't have any idea on how to find you."

"He seems much happier," Linka said, and she smiled to herself. "He is still working, but we are spending a lot of time together."

"So tell me how it happened," Gi demanded. Linka could imagine her settling into a chair, a fierce look of determination in her eyes. "Did he fly to Russia and sweep you off your feet?"

"We ran into one another in London."

"London? Oh he was in China last time I spoke to him – I can't keep track of this!"

Linka laughed and sat back in Wheeler's chair to explain the past week to her friend. They giggled and chatted, and it was more than an hour later when Gi finally realised the time.

"Oh, Linka, it's past midnight," she said. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go."

"_Da_, I understand."

"But we'll see each other soon! And please do call again."

"I will."

"And I can reach you at Wheeler's?"

"_Da_, at Wheeler's." Linka flushed again, and smiled when she heard Gi's giggle.

"Bye then."

"Bye, Gi." Linka replaced the phone in its cradle and sighed happily. She felt almost whole again.

* * *

"Your day was good?" she asked, arranging the bouquet of flowers he had brought her.

"Not bad." Wheeler kissed her cheek. "It's easy to have a good day when I know I'll be coming home to you."

She flushed, pleased and embarrassed by his comment.

"So did you get my surprise?" he asked.

"Oh!" She turned suddenly, remembering, and beamed at him. "_Da_, I spoke with Gi." She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for finding her, Yankee."

He kissed her. "She missed you almost as much as I did, I think. Almost."

"She has been so busy," Linka said, feeling almost jealous. While she was busy taking care of her grandmother, the other Planeteers were busy following their dreams – like they were supposed to. For a moment, she wanted to complain bitterly about the unfairness of it all, but Wheeler stroked her cheek and brought her sensible side back to the surface.

"She was spending a lot of time travelling between Seoul and the coast when I saw her," Wheeler said.

"_Da_, still. She said it is not so bad. She said it suits her career better to stay in Seoul."

Wheeler nodded and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you called her," he said softly.

"I think I made quite an impression on your phone bill," she said.

He shrugged. "Worth it?"

She nodded and smiled at him.

They cooked dinner together and chatted back-and-forth about their day. He asked for her opinion on a matter that had come up at work, and they talked through it and shared the knowledge they had gained not just as Planeteers, but during their experiences over the past five years.

They sat in front of the fire in their pyjamas and he did paperwork and she thumbed through a novel she had been reading, stealing glances at him over the pages, admiring the glow of the fire on his jaw and his hair, and the way he sat with his feet propped up on the coffee table, papers spread untidily across his lap.

"Read this?" he asked, passing something over to her without looking up.

She took it eagerly, glad to be of more help to him – but the note wasn't related to anything from _Planet Traffic._ Instead, it was his own untidy scrawl.

_You look cute in PJ's._

"_Bozhe moy_." She tossed the note back to him and laughed. "Idiot."

He grinned lazily at her, and reached for her. She tucked herself under his arm and started reading through the _Planet Traffic_ reports with him, murmuring comments to him now and then as she came across things that sparked her interest.

* * *

The days went by quickly. Wheeler handed in his notice and spent two days alternating between solid worry and jokes about Gaia not coming back for them.

"I'll have to sleep on the street," he said, throwing a dramatic arm across his eyes. "I won't last two weeks – my girlfriend is a gold-digger."

They wandered New York together. They chatted on the phone to Gi. They went to the roof of Wheeler's apartment and watched the sun sink and the buildings twinkle with artificial lights. They ate out; they cooked. He bought her flowers and she made their bed. They ran in the mornings. She blamed him for a new-found addiction to hazelnut-flavoured lattes.

Two days before they were expecting (hoping) to hear from Gaia, they were in Central Park. Linka was squinting across the water of one of the lakes, watching the sunlight ripple and dance on its surface.

"Linka?"

She turned to face him, her hair stirring gently in the breeze coming off the water. "What is it?"

He was looking at her with a strange expression on his face – a mixture of hope and tentativeness and admiration. He stepped closer, and paused, dropped swiftly and confidently to one knee. When he spoke the words so slowly and carefully she knew it was because he wanted to get them right, not because he was reluctant to speak them.

"_Ti viy-desh za me-nya_?"

She blinked at him, unable to tear her wide eyes away from him, her mouth slightly open. She glanced down at the velvet box in his hand, the diamond winking at her in the sun.

She could feel a slow smile spreading across her face. She could not have stopped it if she'd wanted to. She looked back at him, and just as carefully, spoke to him.

"Yes," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

It was raining heavily – not that either of them minded. Linka had been teaching Wheeler to play chess, and she'd left him in the living room, contemplating his next move, in order to make a pot of coffee.

"You had better not be cheating in there, Yankee!" she called, piling two mugs onto the tray.

"You can always tell," he muttered in response. "You've got a photographic memory when it comes to this game."

He joined her in the kitchen, his hands lingering around her waist. "That next move is going to have you gobsmacked, babe," he said, kissing the side of her neck.

"I hope so," she replied playfully. "I am getting tired of beating you all the time."

He rolled his eyes and grinned at her, helping her load the tray.

She picked it up and turned towards the living room, only to stop short, the tray slipping from her hands and shattering on the floor, hot coffee flooding across the gleaming tile floor.

"Good morning, Planeteers." Gaia smiled and glanced down at the mess. "Sorry to drop in on you so suddenly."

"Gaia!" Wheeler held his arms out and then paused in confusion.

"You can hug Linka for me, Wheeler," Gaia said, the same patient smile on her face.

Wheeler clasped Linka to him, a wide grin on his face, his eyes never leaving Gaia's semi-transparent form.

"You've been expecting me, I hope?" Gaia asked.

"_Da_," Linka breathed. "There has definitely been hope."

"You want to come back to Hope Island, then?"

"Of course!" Linka said passionately, just as Wheeler expressed his own heartfelt desire.

"Well, I want you back too," Gaia said, her eyes twinkling. "But there are things you need to take care of first – loose ends with tenancy agreements and mail and friends – so I'll be back tomorrow evening."

"No problem," Wheeler answered breezily. "We'll be waiting."

Gaia nodded, and gazed at them a moment later, a smile on her face, before she vanished.

Linka squealed with joy and threw her arms around Wheeler's neck. He could only laugh and squeeze her tightly in return.

* * *

It was Kwame who discovered his ring first. Yawning, he threw his book onto his bed and shrugged out of his robe, intent on reading for a short while before falling asleep. He glanced out into the dark as he stood by the window, tipping up a half-empty water bottle to water the plants balanced on the sill. He watched the soil soak the liquid up thirstily, and frowned as particles shifted to reveal a glimmer of gold and green.

He dug his ring out of the pot and smiled, clasping it in his palm and looking around his small bedroom for a moment, before he slipped the ring onto his finger.

A couple of hours later, Gi was yawning sleepily, her hair mussed and a hot mug of coffee in her hands. She shuffled her way into the lounge room, eyes still half-closed, relying instead on the force of habit to move her through the early hour. She shook a teaspoon's worth of flakes into the fish tank, watching several goldfish shoot to the surface of the water to nibble at the food.

When she saw her ring gleaming gently on the bottom of the tank, she plunged her hand in hurriedly and fetched it out, breathless as she placed it on her finger.

Another hour, and Ma-Ti paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. Children ran along the main street of the town, selling tiny trinkets and glossy pebbles for coins the tourists handed to them with smiles.

"_Em troca do dinheiro_?" A small boy held up a bark trinket box hopefully, and Ma-Ti flicked a coin so it flipped and flashed in the fading sunlight and landed in the boy's outstretched hand. He chuckled with delight and ran off.

Ma-Ti rattled the newly-purchased trinket box and the ring rolled out into his palm. He took a moment to gaze at it in surprise and delight before hurriedly jamming it onto his finger.

Almost at the exact same time, Linka gave a shriek of delight, having opened the box of chess pieces to challenge Wheeler again and finding her ring nestled amongst them.

Wheeler found his ring the matchbox as he went to relight the fire in the living room. He met her in the doorway, breathless with excitement.

"Ready, babe?"

She kissed him, too excited to do much else, and they slid their rings on again after five long years.

* * *

Gi barrelled into Kwame and knocked him flat on his back into the sand, squealing about how good it was to see him again.

Winded, he could only nod in response, but his smile was wide. He hugged her tightly, still gasping for air.

She tugged him up.

"Let me recover," he breathed, chuckling, his hands on his knees. "Have you seen the others?"

"We only just got here – give them time!" she exclaimed.

"No..." He shook his head and stood up properly, still smiling. "I have been here a couple of hours."

Gi's smile faltered. "No one else is here yet?"

Kwame shook his head. "No. And I have not seen Gaia yet, either."

She thought for a moment, and shrugged. "I'm sure they'll arrive soon. Linka is very excited about coming back."

Kwame sighed, his chest aching at the thought of his friends. "I have not spoken to Linka since we left here," he said. "Is she alright?"

Gi shrugged. "She can fill you in herself."

He nodded, knowing it would be more appropriate to hear Linka's news from Linka herself. He looked up and down the beach, hoping the others wouldn't be long. He missed them dearly.

Gi ran down to the shore and plunged into the water, just barely aware of the fact she was still in her nightgown. She didn't care – the others had seen her in pyjamas before. For five years she had dreamed of swimming in Hope Island's bay again, and she was unable to resist any longer than absolutely necessary.

Kwame watched her with a smile. She had not changed. She looked a little older, of course – they all did. They were in their late twenties now. With the exception of Ma-Ti, who would be in his early twenties.

Kwame frowned slightly. He couldn't help but wonder if Ma-Ti would come back. Perhaps his life was taking off in an exciting new direction... He had been so young when he first started with the Planeteers.

He shook his head as if to clear it. Answers would come soon enough.

Wheeler had somehow managed to land sprawled on the beach.

Linka looked down at him with one eyebrow raised. "Show a little dignity, Yankee."

"Says the woman who has been bouncing off the walls for the past 24 hours," he said, scrambling to his feet. "I gotta fry something." He pointed his ring gleefully at a beached coconut. "_Fire_!"

He paused.

"It looks like you have lost your touch," Linka said smugly, and she giggled. "Hurry up, I want to get to The Crystal Chamber and find the others."

Wheeler shook his hand as though to spark life into his ring, looking at it with disappointment. "Okay babe, let's go."

"Wheeler! Linka!"

They looked down the beach and Wheeler's mouth dropped open. "No way!"

They started running towards the figure on the beach.

Linka threw her arms around Ma-Ti and he spun her happily, a wide smile on his face.

"You can't be this grown up, man, there has to be a law against it," Wheeler said, embracing Ma-Ti and Linka at once.

Ma-Ti simply laughed. "It is good to see you both," he said. "But where are Kwame and Gi?"

"Crystal Chamber, I'm guessing," Wheeler said.

The three of them began to walk up the beach, talking rapidly.

"What have you been doing the past five years, Ma-Ti?" Linka asked, desperate to learn about her friend after being isolated from him for so long.

"Studying native medicines in the Amazon Rainforest," he said happily. "It was always something I was interested in, and I still find it incredible to learn about." He squinted up the beach. "Is that Gi?"

Linka sprinted away, needing to burn off energy.

Wheeler chuckled and shook his head, and Ma-Ti glanced at him curiously, not bothering to voice a question he already knew the answer to. Wheeler's affection for Linka didn't seem to have changed.

"Hey, where's Suchi?" Wheeler asked suddenly.

"Oh..." Ma-Ti sighed heavily. "I am afraid Suchi will not be coming back to Hope Island. He died last year."

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Wheeler said, clapping a hand on Ma-Ti's shoulder. "How'd it happen?"

"Snake bite. He always was a little too curious for his own good." Ma-Ti smiled sadly. He missed Suchi dearly.

"So, what about you, Wheeler?" he asked, changing the subject. "Are you still in New York?"

"Yeah," Wheeler said, his eyes still on his fiancée as she sprinted towards Gi. "I was Vice President of an environmental detective unit. We investigated environmental crimes and set things right – much like an official Planeteer, I guess. Only there's more red tape and paperwork."

Ma-Ti smiled up at him. He had grown taller in the past five years, but the Fire Planeteer still towered over him. "You used past tense? Are you not still the Vice President?"

Wheeler shook his head. "I left a few weeks ago to prepare for this." He motioned around him with a grin, but it faded. "Though something tells me I should have tried to train a little harder, or something. Is your ring working?"

"I have not tried it yet." Ma-Ti raised his hand. "_Heart._"

Wheeler watched his friend's expression turn to one of mild concern.

"I can't get it to work," Ma-Ti said.

"Well, maybe Gaia can help us out," Wheeler said, noting the shimmering peaks of The Crystal Chamber. He was forced to focus his attention again as Gi slammed into him. He only just managed to keep his balance.

"Hello to you too!" he said, squeezing her happily.

"Missed you," Gi breathed in a sing-song voice.

"You too, Gi." He kissed her cheek.

He looked up to see Kwame spinning Linka around in delight, and embracing Ma-Ti. The five of them quickly squashed into a group hug, laughing and chatting excitedly.

"Did Gaia visit you all yesterday?" Ma-Ti asked. "She came just as I was waking up and I was not sure if it was a dream or not..."

"We should find her," Kwame said, looking back over his shoulder towards The Crystal Chamber.

They made their way up the beach, chattering constantly, Gi and Kwame both in their pyjamas – the others dressed and beginning to shed layers as the warm sun pressed gently down on them.

Wheeler quickly saw why his ring wasn't working.

Gaia looked up with a smile as the Planeteers traipsed in – dragging sand with them, as always. Captain Planet got to his feet. They all stared for a moment, until he grinned and held his arms out.

"Well come on!" he exclaimed.

Gi and Linka threw themselves at him and hugged him tightly – the men a little more restrained, but no less pleased to see him.

"It's good to see you all again," he said, removing himself gently from the group hug that had formed. "Ma-Ti, fancy an arm wrestle?"

Ma-Ti blushed and laughed. The others hadn't changed much, but he had certainly grown, and he felt a little self-conscious about it, the age difference becoming an issue to him again after so many years.

"I was wondering why my ring wouldn't work," Wheeler said, clasping his hand into a fist.

"Gaia called me early so I could see you all." Cap paused, and grinned again. "I'd like to hear a bit about Linka's new ring, if you don't mind..."

Linka went a light shade of pink, and Wheeler grinned, staying silent.

Gi shrieked at the sight of the engagement ring on her friend's hand. "Linka, you're getting married?"

Linka nodded with a shy smile.

"Wonderful!" Kwame embraced her, but he couldn't help a careful glance in Wheeler's direction. To his surprise, the Fire Planeteer looked extremely pleased with the proceedings.

Gi worked it out first, but only because she had the advantage of knowing Linka had been staying with Wheeler the past few weeks. This time, she succeeded in knocking him down with her enthusiastic hug.

"You and Wheeler are engaged?" Ma-Ti asked Linka in amazement.

She nodded, still feeling self-conscious, but very happy.

It was quite a while before they all settled down again. Gi had started to cry and couldn't stop hugging either one of them. It took Wheeler a long time to disengage himself from her and get back to his feet. Kwame and Ma-Ti were both beaming, sending curious looks towards Linka as though she might offer them more information. Finally, they all hugged again, and Wheeler kissed the top of Linka's head.

"Congratulations, again," Gi breathed, squeezing Linka's hand.

"It only took 11 years," Kwame said slyly, laughing at Wheeler.

He shrugged, and grinned at his fiancée. "I got a pretty good deal, in the end."

* * *

It took them a couple of days to get used to the time zone. They were all on different schedules and Gaia simply waited until they were all following the same rough timetable before she called them in, not wanting to prompt mistakes caused by exhaustion. The world had waited five years for its Planeteers – it could wait another two days.

"What is it, Gaia? A job?" Ma-Ti was itching to get back to work.

Linka yawned as she was in the middle of knotting her hair up into a ponytail, and Wheeler took advantage of her busy hands by stuffing his toast crust into her open mouth. She choked and smacked him.

"Quiet, Planeteer," he whispered. "Gaia's talking."

She chewed the toast as she listened to Gaia, narrowing her eyes at her fiancé.

They had all been aware that efforts towards pollution and destruction would not stop just because the Planeteers had disappeared. If anything, efforts would likely increase. Though they all appreciated Gaia's efforts to allow them a normal life, each of the Planeteers had spent their time off still working hard at restoring damage done to the planet by others.

"So, take your pick," Gaia said somewhat wearily. "It could take a while before it looks like you're making any headway against this, but trust me, Planeteers – I'm glad you're back."

They all smiled and echoed similar sentiments back to her.

"I vote we start with that oil spill," Ma-Ti said confidently. "It's the second one in as many months. Cleaning it up shouldn't be too complicated, and it will give us some practise we probably need..." He grinned, and the others agreed with him.

Linka felt very contented as she settled into her seat in the geo-cruiser. For the first time in five years, she felt as though she had a proper direction again. She glanced across the aisle at Wheeler. He was daydreaming, gazing out the window, his long legs stretched out and crossed under Kwame's seat in front of him.

She looked down at the diamond on her finger. Sometimes it seemed everything had happened so fast... and then she remembered the first six years with him, and the fact that he had loved her all that time – and she hadn't been opposed to him, exactly, just...

And then the five years without him, and how much she had missed him and how she had realised she was not able to feel whole unless he was by her side. She had missed him more than she had missed any of the others – constantly searching for news of him and then scolding herself in an effort to stay focused on the present. And despite his status and his involvement in a multi-national company, he had been very difficult to track down. Not knowing his real name had been a serious disadvantage...

He was still hers, though. After all that time. It seemed inevitable that they would end up together, really – but she was glad to finally have the confirmation. She stole another look at him. His eyes were closed.

She smiled to herself and looked out of her own window at the ocean rolling gently beneath them.

* * *

"Who can remember our very first mission together?" Gi asked, creating a gentle spout of water to flood the oil-coated seals gazing up at her miserably.

"That's right!" Ma-Ti said, remembering, his eyes brightening. "Hoggish Greedly and Rigger – and an oil spill!"

"That was the day you called me an imperialistic dog," Wheeler said to Linka.

She raised her eyebrow at him in response, and he grinned.

"I wonder where Greedly is now," Gi mused.

"He is not the one I am so concerned about," Kwame said, kneeling beside Wheeler to help him clean off the animals Ma-Ti was keeping calm. "Greedly could always be reasoned with."

"Most of the time," Wheeler agreed. "Still crazy, though."

"Plunder is the one that scares me most," Ma-Ti said. "He's clever. Blight, too. I wonder what they're up to now."

"We'll meet again, I'm sure," Gi sighed. "It's been strange not knowing what they're up to."

"Skumm is still out there," Linka said quietly, sending another pelican on its way down the beach, which was now pristine, thanks to the efforts of the Planeteers.

Wheeler looked up at her in concern. "What do you mean?"

She dusted her hands off and shrugged. "He is still out there. I – I tracked him down."

"Why, Linka?" Ma-Ti's voice held a quiver of worry.

"I felt better knowing where he was," she said. "Call it closure."

Wheeler was still watching her in concern, but he didn't say anything.

"So – what's he up to?" Gi asked after a moment's silence.

"The same." Linka avoided eye contact with the others, knowing what they must be thinking. "Dig deep enough into any drug or chemical operation and he is involved somehow."

"You haven't had to deal with Skumm on your own or anything, have you?" Wheeler asked anxiously.

Linka shrugged shook her head. "_Nyet_ – I did not go near him. I just..." She trailed off, frustrated at her sudden lack of words to explain herself. "I felt... better? Knowing where he was. And he was still up to no good, of course, but I was alone, and sometimes it is hard convincing authorities to follow your instinct instead of their own."

Wheeler was looking at her in concern, but she avoided eye contact.

The other Planeteers were silent for a moment, watching her, until Ma-Ti sensed her discomfort and suggested that they press on and finish cleaning up the poor animals still gathered around them.

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling you're avoiding me?" Wheeler asked, a smile on his face. He leaned against a nearby tree, his hands in his pockets.

Linka looked back at him over her shoulder. She had disappeared into the forest not long after their return to Hope Island, and he'd found her sitting on a sloping outcrop of rocks, gazing out to sea.

"_Nyet_, I am not avoiding you."

"You sure?"

She moved over in response, and he sat next to her and draped his arm across her shoulders.

"Struggling a bit?" he asked softly.

"Just remembering," she answered. "It is still hard to think about Boris and – that mission. Skumm." She swallowed.

"Mm, I know." He kissed the top of her head and she smiled up at him.

"You smell," she complained suddenly, pushing him away.

"Yeah, like a wet seal." He pulled his t-shirt up to his nose and sniffed. "You're not too fresh either, by the way." He glanced at her sideways. "You need a wash." He shoved her and she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees in the shallow water in front of them.

"Oh!" She stared up at him in surprise, and he laughed.

"Better?"

She scrambled to her feet, and in a flash he was running in front of her, laughing as she chased him through the forest.

"_Wind_!"

He gave a yell as he was swept off his feet, landing heavily on the path. She landed on top of him.

"That's cheating," he coughed. "Bitch."

"Imperialistic dog," she countered.

He laughed and rolled over to look up at her. Her hair gleamed in the sunlight, framing her face in a halo of curls. "Oh, you're pretty," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes. "That will not get you out of it," she said.

"Out of what?"

Linka lifted her head and hollered in the direction of The Crystal Chamber. "Gi!"

"Oh, shit." He laughed and wriggling under her, attempting to tip her off, knowing she was calling Gi to give him a soaking of his own.

"Sorry, Linka, you'll have to get your revenge another time." Gaia's form appeared in front of them. "You have another job to do, Planeteers."

"A hero's work is never done." Wheeler heaved and tipped Linka sprawling onto the ground. "We're coming, Gaia."

* * *

Kwame checked the coordinates Gaia had given him and adjusted the direction of the geo-cruiser accordingly. The flight had started with nervous tension – the Planeteers were about to meet Looten Plunder for the first time in five years.

To take their minds off it, Gi and Linka were huddled down at the back of the geo-cruiser, giggling softly. Wheeler kept shooting curious glances towards them, but didn't disturb them. He knew how much they had missed each other and he had no intention of intruding on them when they were catching up.

"How did he propose?" Gi whispered. "Was he nervous?"

"_Da_," Linka whispered back, glancing at Wheeler to make sure he couldn't overhear her. "It was very sweet, though. He asked me in Russian."

"He can speak Russian?"

"_Nyet_ – I think he learned this phrase specially. He doesn't know anything else." She paused. "Only swear words."

Gi giggled again. "Did he get down on one knee?"

Linka nodded silently. "It was beautiful. I would not have changed anything." She looked fondly down at the diamond on her finger. "And you, Gi? Is there a man in your life?"

Gi shook her head. "Not really. One or two boyfriends here and there... To be honest, I'm not that bothered. If I meet someone, great, but..." She shrugged. "It isn't bothering me at the moment. I still have other priorities." She smiled fondly at her friend. "I'm so happy for you and Wheeler. I always hoped the two of you would end up together..."

Linka smiled in response.

"What changed your mind?"

The blonde laughed and ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her ponytail. "I missed him," she said softly. "I realised he always had my best interests at heart, and that he had never tried to hurt me – only wanted what is best for me. I dated other men occasionally, but none of them ever compared to Wheeler." She snuck another glance at her fiancé. He was leaning over the seat in front, chatting to Kwame as the African man piloted them through the sky.

"He has changed," she mused. "Not so much that he is a totally different person, but... he is more... grounded?" She looked to her friend for confirmation and Gi nodded her understanding.

Linka continued. "He told me he wanted to be enough for me when he saw me again. He was always enough, but..." She shrugged. "We have both changed and grown up in so many ways. I think we both needed time. But I also think we were always on the same path, heading for the same destination."

Gi squeezed her friend's hand. "Me too."


	11. Chapter 11

"Psst, hey... Planeteer Polina, wake up."

She blinked and opened her eyes. "We're there?" She looked around groggily. Kwame was helping Gi out of the geo-cruiser and Wheeler was standing over Linka, his hand on her shoulder.

"Feel okay, babe?"

"_Da_, just tired." She unbuckled her seatbelt, a little embarrassed about falling asleep and not waking up upon landing. They hurried to join the others.

"So, where to?" Wheeler asked.

"Looten's factory is over there." Kwame pointed. "I guess that is where we should start."

"I can smell the chemicals from here," Ma-Ti said, wrinkling his nose. "How he is dumping them in the water supply and getting government support for it I'll never understand."

They trekked through the scattered trees, relying on them for cover as they approached the buildings looming out of the fading light.

"Ever get the feeling that things are just a little too quiet?" Wheeler asked the rest of the Planeteers after a while.

They were all on edge, the warehouses silent and throwing long shadows across them as they moved forward in the twilight.

"Shouldn't there be workers around?" Gi asked. "At least, some sort of security?"

"I don't think we want to run into Looten Plunder's security," Ma-Ti answered quietly.

"What is the best way to attack this?" Kwame asked. "Should we find Plunder first?"

"It doesn't look as though he's around," Gi said nervously. "There are no lights on or anything."

"Maybe he's gotten cocky in the five years since we left," Wheeler said. "If he's got government support he probably thinks he's safe."

"Not even government support makes you immune from protesters or vandals," Gi pointed out. "There should be somebody here."

"It is strange, all right," Kwame answered carefully. "Shall we see if we can get inside and take a look around? That might help us decide our best course of action."

They stole forward, Wheeler burning his way through the chain-link fence, and then melting the lock on one of the windows. They dropped inside, one-by-one, crouching on the floor of an office scattered with papers.

"Why do men not keep their workspaces tidy?" Linka asked in an exasperated whisper.

Gi giggled and Wheeler just rolled his eyes with a smile.

Linka began poking through the desk as Kwame edged his way to the door and peered out.

"Nothing," he murmured. "It is completely still."

"Nothing here, either," Linka replied. "I think this is just a spare office. It would be more helpful to find Plunder's."

"Let's go, then." Wheeler led the charge, keeping close to the wall of the corridor and keeping his ears turned to the slightest noise that might alert them to danger.

The end of the corridor opened up into the main warehouse. Moving equipment and stacks of yellow barrels were positioned haphazardly. There was a strong smell of chemicals in the air.

"Look at it all," Ma-Ti whispered in horror. "He's dumping all _this_ in the river? No wonder people are getting sick."

"Where's it all coming from?" Wheeler asked. "Is he manufacturing it or is it some sort of waste product from something else?"

"We'll go and find out," Gi whispered. "If we take a look at it we might be able to figure out exactly what it is. Linka, why don't you go ahead and try and find Plunder's office?"

"I'll go with you," Wheeler said immediately. Their first possible meeting with Plunder in five years, and he wasn't going to risk Linka running into him alone.

The group split – Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti disappearing silently between the towering barrels, Wheeler and Linka stealing up the metal stairway on their left to the office that overlooked everything.

Linka immediately sat at the computer and began striking keys rapidly.

Wheeler watched her for a moment before he sensed something wasn't quite right.

"You okay, babe?"

"Fine," she answered curtly.

"Are you mad at me?"

She sat back with a sigh, and looked at him. "_Nyet_, not really. Just – I can take care of myself, Wheeler. I do not need you to baby-walk me at every moment."

"That's baby-sit, babe. And I know you can look after yourself, but this is Plunder we're talking about."

She shrugged wearily. "Do you think I had someone with me on every mission I went on the past year? Do you think I had someone to watch my back all the time?" She raised her eyebrow. "Remember, it was _me_ who fought _you_ off and got out of that factory in London."

"I remember." He felt frustrated, though. "I just – I don't want anything to happen to you. Not while I'm here." He stood behind her and ran gentle fingers through her ponytail. "I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt somewhere and I could have stopped it."

She looked up at him and took his hand, shaking her head wordlessly, her anger dissipating into the air as quickly as it had come.

He smiled at her and nodded at the computer. "Come on babe, get him."

He watched her type rapidly, unable to follow what she was doing at all, but finding himself highly impressed by it.

"He is sending money somewhere," Linka murmured after a while. "A lot of money."

"Where to?"

She shrugged. "I cannot really tell. It could be that he is bribing someone in the government to allow him to keep this up..."

"That means there's another guy out there aching for an arrest," Wheeler said, kneeling beside her and gazing at the screen.

"I could be wrong about the bribe," she said, her eyes searching through blocks of numbers and text. "But it looks like the most logical explanation to me. Though why he would suddenly care about what other people think, I do not know... And I do not think the chemicals are manufactured here – it looks as though they are being brought in, on a schedule."

"When's the next shipment due?" Wheeler whispered.

She scrolled down and hit a few more keys. "Tomorrow. Four truckloads, each carrying fifty barrels of waste." Her eyes widened and she pointed suddenly, her finger trembling against the screen as she indicated what she wanted him to see.

_Delivery due from Verminous Ltd._

Linka was about to track further traces of Verminous Skumm in Plunder's computer system, when the building was suddenly flooded with light.

She ducked to the floor immediately, and Wheeler crouched beside her, clenching his right hand into a fist.

_Ma-Ti, tell me that was you turning those lights on._

Nothing.

"Ma-Ti is too close to the waste to talk to us," he whispered, edging along the floor to the door. He glanced out to the open floor below them. The other Planeteers weren't in sight.

"I think we need to get out of here babe," Wheeler whispered. "Let's see if we can get into one of the other offices until we can figure something out."

That was going to prove difficult, however. As they were about to make their move, someone appeared on the main floor below them, heading for the stairs.

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka whispered. "Argos Bleak!"

Wheeler grabbed her and pulled her back into Plunder's office, looking desperately for a place to hide.

"Quick." He tugged at the ventilation cover in the wall by Plunder's filing cabinet and ushered Linka in. He followed, crawling backwards and clipping the grill back into place just as Bleak entered the office, whistling softly.

With horror, Linka realised she had forgotten to turn the computer off or return it to its neutral state.

Bleak opened the top drawer in Plunder's desk and pulled out a thick envelope before he noticed the computer. The whistling died on his lips and he leaned forward, squinting at the monitor.

"Fuckers," he whispered, glancing around the office. Wheeler shrank back, but Bleak's eyes passed over the grill without pausing.

Bleak picked up the phone and punched in a number angrily.

Linka craned her neck, trying to see.

"Someone's been in 'ere, boss," Bleak said. "Your computer's on and someone's been going through the files."

Wheeler glanced back at Linka and she shrugged apologetically.

"Right you are." Bleak slammed the phone down and glanced around the office again before he stalked out and closed the door behind him, locking it securely.

"Way to be alert, Planeteer," Wheeler whispered over his shoulder.

Linka smacked him as best as she could in the confined space. "Out," she hissed. "We have to find the others."

They crawled quietly out of the vent and peered out of the window to the floor below. Bleak was stalking around the barrels and equipment, his face twisted with fury.

"Can we make it?" Linka whispered.

"Not yet." Wheeler craned his head to the left, following Bleak's path along the room. "We'll run to the right and into that corridor, okay?"

"You need to get the lock off this door first, Yankee."

"Oh, right." He melted the lock and tugged the door open, peering out and trying to find Bleak again. He was nowhere in sight.

"Quick!" Linka hurried past him, grabbing his hand and tugging him into the nearby corridor. She held her ring hand in a tight fist.

_Ma-Ti?_

They both breathed a sigh of relief as Ma-Ti's voice washed over them.

_We are outside. Argos Bleak is hunting around. Meet us back at the geo-cruiser. _

They both hurried to the window, but froze as Plunder's voice thundered through the echoing warehouse.

"Bleak!"

Wheeler crept back to the door, unable to resist catching a glimpse of Plunder five years on.

"Babe!" he whispered gleefully. "Plunder's going bald!"

Linka crept to his side and they peered out over the edge of the metal railing separating the walkway from the open space below.

Plunder was indeed going bald – though vainly trying to ignore it. His ponytail started much further back on his head than it used to, but he still insisted upon having one.

"I can't find 'em," Bleak answered, appearing below them. "You'd better go and check your office out. I locked it so they couldn't get back in – everything is as I found it."

Plunder stomped up the stairs, muttering to himself angrily. Wheeler and Linka shrank back against the wall behind the door as he swept past them.

"Time to go, babe," Wheeler said softly. She nodded her agreement and they crept back towards the window, pushing it open silently.

"Bleak!" This time Plunder's voice was positively frightening.

"You first," Wheeler urged, helping her up onto the sill.

"I will catch you," she whispered. She dropped silently from the window, catching herself with a strong updraught and landing gently on the grass below before offering a hoarse whisper to the man above her. "Wheeler!"

He clambered up onto the sill and dropped, slowing significantly as she caught him in another strong current from her ring.

It was more a sixth sense than any significant noise that caused Linka to haul Wheeler backwards and behind a corner of the building. A side door burst open a split-second later, and Bleak stalked out into the moonlight, followed by Plunder.

"Go and get the dog," Plunder snapped. "I swear the lock on that door had been melted, and that means those fucking Planeteers are back again. There's a firebug around here somewhere." His eyes roamed across the yard, hunting for intruders.

"The dog will sniff 'em out," Bleak chuckled, heading around the side of the building.

Wheeler and Linka had no choice but to run for the nearest door and disappear back inside the warehouse.

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka breathed. "We've got to get past them."

"Really?" Wheeler asked breathlessly, raising his eyebrow. "You don't want to stop and chat with them for a while?"

She chose to ignore his sarcasm and tugged him back into the first office they had broken into. The window was still open and they could see Plunder out in the yard, his hands on his hips, his eyes still searching the darkness for movement.

"He's right where we need to go," Linka said in dismay.

"He knows it's us, too," Wheeler said grimly.

"Not for sure," Linka said hopefully.

"A melted lock is a pretty good indication." Wheeler said, his ring glinting in the dim moonlight.

A barking dog nearby sparked Linka into action. Holding her ring through the open window, she sent a blast of air towards Plunder, knocking him forward onto his stomach.

"Damn it!" He struggled to his feet again and spun around furiously, his eyes searching the building.

"Upstairs, babe," Wheeler whispered. "He'll run in here and we'll drop through the window again." He stood up sent a loud wolf-whistle out into the yard, blowing Plunder a kiss through the open window before grabbing Linka's hand and making a run for it, a furious Plunder racing for the door in the side of the building.

Linka landed a lot harder than she did the previous jump, and barely caught Wheeler in time. They scrambled to their feet and ran for the hole in the fence, the dog barking furiously somewhere at the front of the warehouse, Bleak and Plunder shouting to one another.

Both Planeteers breathed a sigh of relief when the geo-cruiser came back into sight.

* * *

"So it's chemical runoff from whatever Skumm is creating," Gi said slowly, chewing her lip. "There are hundreds of barrels – but a lot of them are empty. The waste has probably already been dumped into the river."

"Skumm makes deliveries every five days," Linka said, recalling the information she had pulled up on the computer. "Plunder then dumps it into the river, and bribes the government so there is no investigation into the poisoned water."

"What about all the people getting sick? And all the fish and plant life dying?" Ma-Ti asked in disbelief.

"Even if the citizens are concerned, without a proper investigation by the right people, this will not stop," Linka answered furiously. "I think this goes much deeper than we originally thought. I wish we knew what Skumm was up to."

"Did you find out where this stuff is coming from?" Gi asked.

She shook her head. "_Nyet_. But there is another delivery due tomorrow. We could follow the trucks back and stop the chemicals at the source."

"Good idea," Kwame said. "Until then, we should get some sleep. It is late, and Skumm and Plunder will be on guard more than ever now that they know we are back. Tomorrow could be a difficult day."

"I think that's an understatement," Wheeler muttered, shrugging out of his jacket and curling up in his seat. He looked longingly over at Linka, who was curling up across the aisle. Not only was he in for an uncomfortable night – he couldn't even wrap himself around his fiancée. He sighed and rested his head against the window, cursing Plunder and those like him.


	12. Chapter 12

Wheeler polished an apple – his third for the morning – on his shirt, and jumped down from the geo-cruiser to join the others.

"I am not sure what time the deliveries arrive," Linka said, leading the team of Planeteers through the trees now that her fiancé had finally joined them. "We will just have to keep watch." She chewed her lip, feeling a little odd. She knew the others were worried about Skumm's involvement, and though she had dealt with him several times since the incident with Bliss, it was never easy for her to see him again.

"Watch out for that dog, too," Wheeler remarked. "I'd hate to have that thing sniffing me out. Did you see the size of it?"

Ma-Ti simply grinned at him. "Do not worry about the dog, my friend. He may be trained to attack, but he is not evil. I will protect you." He patted Wheeler's bicep comfortingly, and the others snickered.

They stayed within the shelter of the trees, watching the warehouses. Now and then they could see someone wandering between them, but it didn't appear as though Plunder had a lot of people working for him.

"Is he really going bald?" Gi asked for a while, shifting uncomfortably. The ground was not exactly soft and they'd been there for a while.

"_Da_," Linka giggled, looking at Wheeler. He grinned back at her.

"Still got the ponytail, but his forehead's certainly a lot bigger," he said. "His taste in fashion hasn't changed much, though."

Gi wrinkled her nose. "Well that's nothing to brag about."

Linka sat up suddenly, peering down the road. "Something is coming."

They watched as four large trucks rumbled their way into the gate and pulled up beside the second warehouse.

"Are there barrels in every one of those buildings?" Wheeler asked.

"Not that we could see – we think the first one is used for storing the barrels and the others are empty. At least, as far as we could tell in the dark," Kwame answered.

"We should get closer for a better look," Gi murmured. "Split up again?"

"Wheeler, you had better go with Ma-Ti this time," Linka said, smiling and unfolding her long legs. "That way, he can protect you from the Big Bad Wolf."

Wheeler gaped at her wordlessly and then rolled his eyes, laughing. "Sure babe. You just don't want to be distracted by my muscles."

The others graciously averted their eyes as he kissed her goodbye. "You be safe, you hear me?" he asked, not caring whether or not it was going to make her mad and start another lecture about looking after herself.

"_Da_, you too." She squeezed his hand and she, Kwame and Gi circled around the back of the building – Ma-Ti and Wheeler stealing towards the front.

"Let's get over the fence here," Gi said, stopping suddenly. "There are no windows on this side of the main building."

"Can you lift us over, Linka?" Kwame asked.

She nodded, and sent Gi over first, concentrating hard. She always found it difficult to lift people. She had never known why, until she'd mentioned it to Ma-Ti one day, and he'd suggested that maybe souls were heavier than objects. She liked the explanation so much she decided to use it as fact.

"Ready?" she asked Kwame, turning to him.

He nodded, and she lifted him over the fence until he was standing by Gi. They waited nervously for her, and then the three of them ran for the nearby warehouse.

They could hear Plunder as they stole closer, and the three of them edged to the corner of the building and listened closely.

"It's those planet brats," Plunder was growling. "The firebug was here – he melted a few of my locks from doors and windows around the place. Blondie was here too, but I didn't see any of the others. I'm sure they won't be far behind." He checked his watch and surveyed the men hurrying back and forth between the trucks and the second warehouse. Barrels were being transported on forklifts and trays.

"Maybe only two of 'em are back?" Argos Bleak said, spitting into the dirt.

"I doubt it," Plunder murmured. "I can't imagine that happy little family being split up. All or nothing."

"I'd love to be the one to split 'em up," Bleak said, slamming his fist into his palm.

"Bleak go and tell these men to get a move on, will you?" Plunder asked wearily. "I have a meeting in town with the water minister."

"His payment went through all right?" Bleak's voice was so low the Planeteers strained to hear it.

"That's what I'm going to find out," Plunder answered in an icy voice. "Now go and tell those men to hurry up, and keep an eye out for those Planeteer punks. With them hanging around, and Skumm's sudden superiority complex, I have a tolerance level of zero this morning."

"Right," Bleak answered grimly, heading for the second warehouse.

Gi tugged on Kwame's shirt. "What's our plan of action?"

"We need to find out where those trucks are going," he whispered.

"If I can get back into Plunder's office I can try and track it on the computer," Linka whispered.

"Move!" Gi hissed suddenly, sprinting for the opposite side of the building.

Plunder was coming their way.

They ran around the corner, hearts racing.

"In here," Gi panted, pushing a door open. They tumbled into the warehouse and closed the door behind them.

"Upstairs," Linka gasped. "It will only take me a minute now that I know what I'm looking for." She took the steps two at a time, aware that Plunder was just behind them.

"Linka, there is not enough time." Kwame grabbed her just as she was about to enter Plunder's office. The three of them disappeared into the disused room next door, trying to quiet their breathing.

"He's going out for a meeting soon," Gi said, agreeing with Kwame. "There's no rush."

Linka leaned against the wall, trying to get her breath back. "_Da_, you are right. I got a little ahead of myself."

Kwame grinned at her and put his eye to the lock, motioning the girls to be silent. They could hear Plunder's footsteps drawing closer, and the creak of his chair in the room next door as he sat down.

Linka pressed her ear to the wall between them.

"Skumm!"

She jumped back as Plunder spoke angrily into the phone, his voice carrying to them easily.

"I don't care," Plunder snapped haughtily, obviously responding to some sort of complaint Skumm had greeted him with. "You're sending this stuff too quickly for me to deal with. I can't keep this up forever. You need to find new dumping grounds – the minister is getting too familiar for my taste. He's demanding more money and I'm not going to pay more just to have the environmental nitwits kept off my back. Especially when this is _your_ problem."

He went silent for a moment, and they heard his chair creak again. "You can deal with that yourself," he snapped. "We've got bigger troubles, all of a sudden. Cast your mind back five years. Our lives got a lot simpler when those five planet brats disappeared, remember? Well – they're back. At least, two of them are."

Gi cringed as his voice rose even further.

"I'm telling you, it's them!" he roared. "I saw two of them here last night. Blondie knocked me clear off my feet and that smart-ass firebug melted all the locks to my office. They were snooping around in here last night and it's only a matter of time before they start giving you a headache as well. If they haven't already figured you're a part of this, I'll eat my hat.

"Now whatever the hell this stuff is, you start sending it elsewhere. Just take it off my hands for a couple of weeks until I figure out what needs to be done."

Linka could actually hear his breathing as he listened impatiently to Skumm's response.

"No, Skumm, you listen to me," Plunder said icily. "I did this as a favour for you in return for that chemical you developed for me. Attaching my name to this doesn't concern me when I have the right contacts to polish away the tarnish. But this is getting out of control. Just take the run-off out to sea and dump it. This operation has been a giant headache and it's not worth the money we're paying the government to hush it up.

"If you refuse to give me more information about what the hell you're sending me, I'm refusing to take care of it any more – favour or no favour." He slammed the phone down and sighed heavily.

Gi's fists were balled up tightly. "_Geseki_," she muttered.

Linka and Kwame exchanged glances, not bothering for a translation.

"It's bad enough he's polluting the river," she whispered hotly. "To suggest dumping it in the ocean?"

"We will stop him before it gets to that," Kwame whispered, squeezing her hand tightly. "Though I wish we knew what it was. It is interesting Plunder doesn't know himself..."

Linka listened intently. It sounded as though Plunder was getting ready to leave – throwing things into a briefcase, snapping it shut, and then closing the door to his office and stomping down the steps again.

Kwame cracked the door open and nodded, ushering her into Plunder's office – the lock still useless thanks to Wheeler's actions the night before.

"Keep watch," Linka whispered, settling herself behind Plunder's computer. It didn't take her long. She managed to find a direct address for Skumm's location. She scribbled it on a notepad and shoved the paper into her pocket, shutting the computer down again.

"_Da_, got it," she said, joining the others again. "Should we go back to the geo-cruiser?"

Kwame nodded, and they hurried outside.

* * *

"So Plunder owed Skumm a favour," Gi said slowly, trying to sort her thoughts. "Skumm needed someone with government contacts to delay investigations into the dumping of the waste... And now Plunder is getting sick of being his guinea pig."

"It seems so," Linka sighed. She leaned against the geo-cruiser and checked her watch again, trying to resist the urge to bite her nails.

Gi watched her with mild amusement. Kwame was stretched out on one of the wings of the geo-cruiser, in the sun, snoring softly, his arm slung across his eyes.

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka finally exclaimed. "What is taking them so long?"

"Maybe they're waiting for the trucks to leave again," Gi shrugged. She smiled. "I'm sure they're both fine. If you're really worried, try and contact Ma-Ti."

"Wheeler is probably playing games with that dog," Linka muttered. She held her ring aloft and sent strong thoughts to Ma-Ti, asking him for an update and hating herself for it.

_We are fine,_ came the response, as Ma-Ti tuned into her thoughts. _There are just a lot of people about and we want to avoid detection. We will meet you soon._

Linka sighed and flopped down onto the grass. She began to daydream. The sun was pleasantly warm, and the forest, though sparse, was quiet and offered them shelter from the wind and any of Plunder's henchmen. She twirled a blade of grass between her finger and thumb, enjoying the sunshine but remembering with a slight smirk that there had been advantages to the rainy weather she had faced in London and New York. All that time shut up inside with Wheeler had offered certain benefits.

"Anything I should know about?" Gi asked, a similar smirk appearing on her face.

Linka blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You look like the cat that got the cream," Gi said cheekily. "Thinking about a certain someone?"

Linka went red, and was about to deny everything when she was interrupted – interrupted by a rapid peppering of gunshots ringing out from Plunder's warehouses.


	13. Chapter 13

Kwame jumped to his feet immediately, the blood draining from his face.

"_Bozhe moy_..." Linka started sprinting for the warehouses, Gi and Kwame hot on her heels.

"Careful, Linka!" Kwame called. "It could be dangerous!"

She was deaf to his warnings. All she wanted was to find Wheeler...

_Get to the geo-cruiser, get to the geo-cruiser! We're coming. We have to leave, now, now!_

Ma-Ti's voice was frantic, and caused the three of them to skid to a stop. Linka bent over in a panic, her head in her hands.

_Where is Wheeler?_

There was no answer, and Kwame grabbed her hand and pulled her backwards, running with her and half-dragging her back to the geo-cruiser. Even as he started it, they could hear something crashing through the shrubs towards them. More shots rang out.

"Wheeler!" Linka clung to the side of the geo-cruiser, feeling it shudder as Kwame put it into gear, ready to fly upwards at the shortest notice.

Ma-Ti launched out of the trees and into the vehicle in one bound, panting heavily. "Hurry!" he gasped.

"Where is Wheeler?" Linka asked frantically.

"Go!" Wheeler shouted, throwing himself into the geo-cruiser and knocking Linka to the floor.

Kwame rose so quickly he made Gi groan and clutch her stomach.

"Where were you?" Linka gasped, hot tears running down her face. "I thought you had been shot."

"No chance, _krasivaya_," Wheeler panted, rolling off her and onto his back. "Shit that was close, Ma-Ti." He laughed somewhat hysterically, his palms over his eyes. "Who knew Bleak could aim so well?"

"Linka?" Kwame was calling her. "Where am I going?"

She handed Skumm's address to him wordlessly, still trembling, her stomach in knots.

"What happened?" Gi asked.

"We may have been spotted by Bleak," Ma-Ti suggested weakly. "I think he became suspicious when his dog had his aggression levels lowered a little. He started poking around. The dog wasn't going to attack us, but it still found us..."

"We high-tailed it out of there," Wheeler said, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. "I didn't want to risk blowing any of that chemical stuff up – but they didn't seem to mind shooting around it."

"You're not hurt are you?" Gi asked in concern.

"Nah. Just a little out of breath." Wheeler grinned and sat up, noticing Linka's tears for the first time. "Are _you_ hurt?" he asked immediately.

She laughed and shook her head. "_Nyet_. Just worried."

He raised his eyebrow. "I can take care of myself," he sighed in a somewhat mocking tone. "I had no one to look after me these past five years..."

She shook her head. "Not a joke this time, Yankee."

He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "You're not getting rid of me so easily, babe. I'm okay."

She wiped her eyes and pressed her face into the side of his neck. "_Ne magu zhit' bes tebya_," she whispered.

"I'm not sure what that means, but you can say it anytime you want," he answered, kissing her ear, which was the only part of her he could reach, her arms restricting his movement.

"Do I get a hug as well?" Ma-Ti asked, in a rather pitiful voice.

Gi laughed and hugged him tightly. "Of course you do."

* * *

"They are underneath," Ma-Ti said, climbing back into the geo-cruiser. "In the sewers."

Gi muttered to herself in disgust. "He's always in the sewers."

"And the building is empty?" Kwame asked. He had landed the geo-cruiser on top of a warehouse in the city, and Ma-Ti had searched it with his ring for any signs of Skumm.

"I think so. It might be used for storage, but I am having a hard time seeing things from here."

Kwame nodded, and Ma-Ti shut the door to the cruiser, securing them against the outside world again.

Wheeler and Linka were at the back, still wrapped in each other's arms.

"Really, I'm okay," Wheeler said. "It was nothing."

She nodded wearily, knowing she had to calm down. They'd been in dangerous situations before – and she had come close to losing Wheeler before. But so much had happened in the past five years... she wasn't sure she could stand losing someone else. Especially Wheeler.

"You called me _krasivaya_," she said tiredly. "Are you sure you do not speak Russian, Yankee?"

"Only enough to impress you like that now and then," he answered. "Did I pronounce it right?"

"Close enough," she murmured.

He chuckled and hugged her closer. "I love you."

"Could you tell what they are doing down there, Ma-Ti?" Kwame asked.

Ma-Ti glanced to Linka and seemed to consider, carefully, what he was going to say.

"I cannot tell for certain," he said, "but I think it is some sort of drug."

"That is what is creating all that waste?" Kwame asked in shock.

"I do not think it is waste," Ma-Ti said anxiously. "I think that _is_ the drug. I think it is some sort of – of _control._"

"Like mind control?" Gi asked incredulously. "No way. Right?" She looked around to see if anyone else was as disbelieving.

"I cannot be completely sure," Ma-Ti reiterated. "But so many of the people are from the town which relies on that river, and they are coming to Skumm for instructions. They are helping him send the barrels away."

"I can imagine why he is hiding it from Plunder," Kwame breathed. "As far as Skumm is concerned, Plunder is just..."

"His lackey," Wheeler offered. "Plunder thinks he's just disposing of chemical waste and doing Skumm a favour. If he found out what Skumm was really up to, he'd want a bigger slice of the pie."

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka whispered. "We have to shut him down."

"Well – let's go then," Gi said firmly, and she jumped down from the geo-cruiser.

* * *

"You said yourself you stick out like a – a sore thumb," Linka reminded Wheeler.

"Yeah, in China!" he answered.

"Wheeler, I am not going alone, Gi and Ma-Ti are coming with me," Linka said patiently. "You and Kwame will go down and around the back."

Gi nodded, though she gave Wheeler a sympathetic look. "If you can't get in from the outside, one of us will let you in from the inside."

"It sounds dangerous," Kwame said doubtfully.

"We will blend right in," Linka said, her patience finally started to wear off. "I wish you would all stop worrying about me..."

They exchanged glances, and Gi squeezed her friend's hand. "Sorry, Linka. We know you can take care of yourself, but we also know it's hard for you to be around Skumm..."

Linka shook her head and Gi dropped the subject.

The girls and Ma-Ti were about to head down and blend into the crowd milling around the front doors of Skumm's warehouse.

"We look too clean," Ma-Ti said.

Linka smiled brightly, and one short dust-storm later, they were choking and coughing their way down to the crowd, dirty and grimy with powdery earth.

The crowd was eerily quiet. The people milled around nervously, avoiding eye contact with one another, shuffling their feet, their faces pinched and drawn. The clothes they were wearing were hanging off their bony frames, stained and crusted with filth.

"He's taking so long!" one woman cried desperately, clawing at the door to the warehouse. "What's taking him so long?"

The crowd were beginning to murmur amongst themselves and press against the door, creating a crush that squeezed Linka's breath from her body. Just as she was about to cry out in protest and force everyone back again, the doors burst open.

She gasped as she saw Skumm's silhouette. He was chuckling with glee, ushering the crowd in, his face scarred and wizened – a mutant, a nightmare come to life.

"In you come," he chuckled. "I have plenty for you to do. Don't worry, my friends, in you come..."

She managed to resist glaring at him – ducking her head and hurrying along with the crowd, Ma-Ti and Gi close behind her. The crowd surged forward and they had no choice but to be swept along.

"Look at it all," Ma-Ti whispered in horror.

They had managed to break free of the group and hide – creeping along one of the side corridors until they emerged at a supervision deck, which looked out onto a cavernous room underground, stone walls running with slime and water.

"There are hundreds of them," Gi said in dismay, looking down at the crowd of people hurriedly rolling barrels along the floor.

From what they could tell – Skumm had a rudimentary but effective laboratory set up beneath the warehouse. Large clouds of toxic steam and smoke hovered at the top of the tunnel – and below, people were gathered around a pair of conveyor belts. One belt led into a narrow tunnel, carrying empty barrels. When they returned along the second conveyor belt, they were full and heavy, metal lids sealed shut by whatever machine was creating the smoke and steam in the next room.

"I wish we could see into that room," Linka said desperately. "We need to shut down the equipment he has back there. That is what is creating the waste."

"Everyone is so scared," Ma-Ti whispered. "They crave direction – orders. They need Skumm to tell them what to do or they start to panic..." He shook his head. "He lets them go home but they continue to drink the water and they return here again and again."

Linka felt sick. She could remember the craving caused by Skumm's chemicals. Even if the Planeteers did stop him, these people had a long, difficult road ahead of them.

"We should go and find the others," Gi murmured. "Wheeler's going to flame his way in if we don't hurry up."

They crept forward again, eyes searching the darkness. Skumm had made the underground of the city his home. Tunnels ran everywhere, huge cavernous rooms filled with bags and metal barrels of chemicals and waste. Frightened workers scurried back and forth, their skin stained yellow and green, vomit streaking the front of their clothes.

There was a moment when the trio thought they were discovered – a worker rushed up to them suddenly, screeching, begging them to tell her where Skumm was.

"I don't know what to do," she gasped, tears running down her face. "I don't know what to do!"

"You need to go home," Gi said gently. "You need to get out of here."

The woman shook her head frantically. "Where is Mr. Skumm?"

"We don't know," Gi answered, still holding the woman's shoulders and looking desperately at Linka and Ma-Ti. "But you shouldn't take orders from Skumm..."

"Only him," the woman wept, sinking to the floor. "I need to find him; I don't know what to do."

They had no choice but to let her leave – she ran off into one of the tunnels, following another crowd of anxious people into the dark.

"I swear Skumm will pay for this," Linka said fiercely. "These people are terrified and he is forcing them to create the very thing that made them this way in the first place..."

"Let's find Kwame and Wheeler," Gi answered. "Then we can figure out what to do."


	14. Chapter 14

"Maybe we should just call Captain Planet," Gi suggested, her eyes darting doubtfully over the crowd surging below them.

"Yeah, but how much help is he going to be with all these fumes in the air?" Wheeler asked. "He goes any higher than our heads and he'll drop like a stone."

Kwame nodded. "That is what I was thinking. I think we need to shut down that machine, first."

Wheeler clenched his fist. "A little fire power?"

"And maybe a short circuit or two with some water leaking in?" Gi grinned at him.

"Let's go, Hydro," Wheeler said.

"And we will find Skumm," Kwame murmured. "I think we need to find out exactly what this drug is doing to people."

"Be careful," Gi warned. "If he manages to slip any of that stuff to us..." She let her sentence trail off, and everyone felt a jolt of nerves.

"_Nyet_, we will stop him," Linka said suddenly. "But we must hurry."

Wheeler winked at her when he slipped past with Gi, and she smiled before turning to follow Kwame and Ma-Ti, their eyes searching the darkness for any sign of Skumm.

The place was huge. Tunnels led in every direction and the lighting was poor – a few sputtering lanterns here and there, the main cavern being the only area linked up to electricity, as far as they could tell.

"It would be so easy to get lost in here," Linka said nervously.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Ma-Ti answered. "I hope the crowds in here stick to that main room. I would hate to think they are wandering around getting lost."

A loud boom from the main factory area distracted them, and they turned back, facing the direction they had come from, their hearts beating rapidly.

"Do you think that was Wheeler and Gi?" Ma-Ti asked anxiously.

"You tell us, Ma-Ti," Kwame whispered.

A loud roar came from the crowd. It was a roar of panic and confusion, and Ma-Ti hastily held his ring to the air. _Heart_.

"It wasn't Wheeler," he said, his eyes widening in a panic. "The machine is still going, but there are trucks... trucks in the southern tunnel, to take the barrels away. There has been a collision..."

"Come on!" Linka said, sprinting away and back to the main room. She stopped short when she reached the mouth of the tunnel. The crowd was in a panic. The conveyor belt continued to roll out the barrels from the contraption in the next room. She could see Wheeler and Gi standing together, confused, in the shadows in the far corner. Smoke billowed from the southern tunnel, sending the people into a panic.

"Outside!" Linka cried. "Get outside, now!"

They were deaf to her, trembling with fear but not able to leave without Skumm's permission – without his approval.

"Skumm is coming!" Kwame said, waving at Wheeler and Gi to hide and tugging on Linka's arm. He pulled her behind an untidy stack of barrels and crates.

"I can't reach them," Ma-Ti panicked. "There are too many fumes. I need to go back down the tunnel and send a warning."

"I will go with you," Kwame said, not wanting Ma-Ti to disappear into the dark alone. "Linka, keep an eye out for Skumm?"

"_Da_, I will," she said, somewhat nervously.

Kwame hesitated. "Unless you would rather –"

"Go, Kwame!" she cried. "There is no time for this!"

Just as Kwame and Ma-Ti disappeared back into the tunnel, Skumm emerged from a doorway, snarling.

Linka shuddered in disgust, her skin crawling at the sight of the mutant creature stalking past her.

He gave a high whistle. "Back to work!" he cried, a dangerous growl in his voice. "You will work until those conveyor belts stop, do you hear me?"

A shudder of relief seemed to pass over the crowd, and the screams died down. Panic was replaced by order at the sight of their master.

Too late, she heard Ma-Ti's warning sweep over the crowd.

_Everybody – please, get out of here. There are dangerous chemicals. The smoke can suffocate you. Please, everybody, get out..._

Skumm had not heard Ma-Ti's message, his mind and his heart too heavy with hatred and pollution to notice it. He did, however, notice the sudden hesitation in his workers.

"What are you doing?" he snarled, cuffing a nearby woman who was gazing up into the air, her mouth open with horror.

"The message," she mumbled. "The message to get out, Mr. Skumm."

"What message?" Skumm's eyes were narrowed and he bent over the woman. On the other side of the room, Linka could see Wheeler and Gi emerging from the shadows, their eyes searching the crowd nervously for a sign of what was going on. She watched as Gi tried to convince a few of the nearby workers to flee, but they were too anxious, their eyes darting between Skumm and the barrels still rolling out along the conveyor belt.

_You will work until those conveyor belts stop, do you hear me_?

The conveyor belt. They had to stop the conveyor belt. She risked it – she cupped her hands around her mouth and called across the crowd, hoping Skumm's distraction would serve her a little further.

"The conveyor belt!" she cried over the hum of voices and the machinery. "Wheeler, stop the conveyor belt!"

He turned, understanding suddenly, and shot a dart of flame towards the machinery. There was a crack, and a plume of smoke, and the belt stopped, the barrels suddenly stationery.

"It's stopped!" Linka cried, backing into hiding again, not wishing Skumm to notice her. "The conveyor belt has stopped – get outside, now!"

Skumm had frozen, his eyes darting left and right, trying to spot her, a look of vague recognition and anger on his face. Skumm, however, was not the only danger in the room.

"Nice move, blondie."

She spun around, but too late to react. Bleak threw his fist upwards, connecting with her chin, and she flew backwards, hitting the ground heavily. She laid there, dazed, blood trickling from her nose.

She gasped when she felt him tugging her ring from her finger, but she was too dizzy and disorientated to do anything about it. Bleak heaved her up and slung her over his shoulder, the quick movement making her world spin and finally fade to darkness.

* * *

Wheeler threw his shoulder against the door again and the wood finally splintered under his weight, smashing open to reveal the churning, smoking mass of pipes and cogs, fumes billowing into the air.

He choked, his arm across his face, tears springing to his eyes, and turned to Gi. "I can't do it," he coughed. "It'll explode, there are all sorts of gases in here."

She nodded, and pointed her ring to the muck swiftly flowing past, hoping there wasn't so much pollution and filth floating in it that her ring wouldn't work.

"_Water_."

She soaked the control panel, which flickered and sparked dangerously, before the machine whined and started to slow, the noise cutting off immediately, the foul liquid ceasing to spill out of its tubes. Now that the noise had stopped, they could hear Kwame and Ma-Ti shouting and pleading for everyone to get outside.

"Planet pests..." Skumm hissed, glaring at both Wheeler and Gi as they spun around to face him. "This isn't the end."

"You have to tell these people to get out of here, Skumm," Gi choked. "Order them outside or they're all going to suffocate in this smoke."

Skumm chuckled and shook his head. "Why would I do that?" he asked slyly.

"We're gonna kick your ass if you don't!" Wheeler snapped, his patience breaking cleanly in two like a delicate thread.

"Plunder will take care of it," Skumm said, edging away. "He's the legitimate businessman, after all. It's _his_ name attached to all this." He chuckled with delight, still creeping towards the shadows.

"Get everyone out of here _now_!" Gi screeched at him.

Skumm hissed a chuckled through his teeth. "Sayonara, Planeteers."

"I'm Korean, jackass!" She hollered after his retreating form, borrowing a term she'd overheard Wheeler use.

Wheeler grinned and grabbed her arm, steering her back towards the door. "No time, _danbi_. We have to get out of here."

The crowds were milling around in confusion, weeping and panicking at the disruption in their routine and the fact Skumm was no longer there to help them out of it.

Wheeler put his fingers to his lips and blew, a piercing whistle causing everyone to look at him, eyes wide with fear.

"Skumm is outside," he called in a clear voice. "We'll go and find him and sort out what we need to do. Okay?"

At the mention of their leader, and with fearful glances back towards the smoke still drifting in from the machine and the southern tunnel, people began to move rapidly upstairs, the Planeteers following them and ensuring nobody was left behind.

It wasn't until they were in the cool air of the night, and sirens were drawing closer, bringing fire hoses and authorities to help them, that Wheeler noticed Linka was missing.


	15. Chapter 15

"My, my, my," Plunder sighed, sitting back on his heels so he was at Linka's eye-level. "You certainly grew up, didn't you?"

She couldn't answer if she wanted to. Her head was forced back, rope tight around her throat, connected to her chafed wrists which were forced up behind her shoulder-blades, her hands crossed and fluttering helplessly at their opposite shoulders. She struggled to draw a breath, let alone make some sort of venomous comment to Plunder.

_Please, please, please do not let him find out what that chemical does._

"Any sign of the others?" Plunder asked Bleak.

"Not yet. They won't be far away, but things got a bit messy back there, boss. Came up behind blondie as the others were wreaking havoc."

Plunder ignored him, reaching out and fondling a lock of Linka's hair. With a surge of furious hatred, she kicked out at him, falling sideways and rubbing the sensitive skin on her throat raw. Plunder chuckled with delight.

"Now, now," he chastised gently. "That's no way to treat your host."

She narrowed her eyes at him, unable to gather the necessary breath for verbal insults.

Plunder tilted his head suddenly, and reached for her again. With horror, she felt him tugging her engagement ring from her finger.

"Nyet!" she gasped furiously, squirming around on the floor like a fish out of water. "Stop!"

"Bleak," Plunder said in amusement. "This little planet punk is engaged."

Bleak snorted in response, staring down at Linka's gasping form on the floor.

Plunder let out a low whistle. "He's got money, whoever he is." He handed the ring over to his hefty henchman, who looked a lot more interested at the sight of the diamond.

"Give it back!" Linka demanded breathlessly.

"He _has_ got money," Bleak sighed. He twirled the ring in his fingers thoughtfully and then handed it back to his boss, a little reluctantly. "You reckon this guy's willing to pay more for his fiancée than he did for 'er ring?"

Plunder chuckled and slipped Linka's engagement ring into his pocket. "And here I was about to hand her over to Skumm."

Linka wondered if she should be pleased about the new development – she certainly had no desire to be 'handed over' to Skumm. As much as she detested Plunder, she was probably safer with him. For the moment.

"How do we find out who she's engaged to?" Bleak asked, cracking his knuckles. "Or who _she_ is, for that matter?"

"Well why don't you go and scout out Russia – ask around?" Plunder asked, exasperated. "Make her tell you, Bleak. I don't care how you do it." He sent another sneer down to Linka and strode from the room.

Linka squirmed miserably on the floor, bruised and bloody, and still feeling dizzy – not only from the knock on the head, but from the lack of air getting into her lungs. She was sure the rope around her throat was slowly strangling her.

To her relief, Bleak cut it loose – leaving her wrists jacked up behind her, but her windpipe mercifully open.

"So are you going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" he asked, running his fingers down Linka's cheek.

"Ugh," she groaned, turning away. She muttered a few choice words in Russian, and he chuckled.

"Good," he murmured. "I was hoping you'd choose to do it the hard way."

* * *

Linka was aware she was groaning. She blinked her eyes open again, fighting to regain consciousness, her head ringing.

"Again?" Bleak asked. "All we need is a way to contact him, blondie. He hands us the money, we hand you over, and everyone lives their own happy little lives."

She had the energy to scoff. "Somehow I am having trouble believing you," she murmured. It was hard to talk. Her throat was still raw from having a rope pressed so tightly around it – and her lips were cut and bleeding. She was fairly certain one of her eyes had been blackened.

_If you hand me over to Skumm, and he feeds those chemicals to me – I hope he orders me to blow you to the moon._

The door was thrown open and Plunder stood there, looking impatient. "Well?" he asked.

"Not quite, boss." Bleak cracked his knuckles and glared down at her. "But I'm not done tenderising 'er yet."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Plunder snapped. "Bring her here. Blight will sort this out in ten minutes."

Linka groaned as Bleak swung her over his shoulder again, her body aching and protesting at every step he took.

* * *

"You brought me a present?" Blight's voice oozed through the room like an oil slick.

Bleak dumped Linka on the floor.

Blight stared. "What is that?" she asked excitedly, stepping closer. "That's not a planet brat – is it?"

"They're giving Skumm and I quite a few headaches," Plunder said icily, touching his ponytail with a delicate hand. "It turns out they're back, after a little five-year vacation."

Blight chuckled and knelt by Linka, who was exhausted and unable to move.

"We want to find out a few things about Wendy Windbag down there," Plunder said. "Get us all the information you can and we'll make it worth your while."

Blight stood up and put her hands on her hips, regarding him flirtatiously. "You'll make it worth my while? Like how?" she purred.

Plunder pulled Linka's Planeteer ring out. "Like I'll give you this," he responded smoothly.

Blight's eyebrow quirked up. "You don't want it?"

"I'm after the firebug's ring, myself," Plunder drawled. "You can have this one."

"In advance," Blight ordered, holding her hand out.

Plunder sighed and slipped the ring onto her finger, playing along.

Blight stroked the ring in delight. "Now, what do you want?" she asked.

"Anything you can find on her," Plunder said, nudging Linka with his foot. "Take a DNA sample, get her name, her address, her background. Anything."

If Blight was curious about Looten's latest plans, she didn't show it. She hauled Linka up and dragged her over to a gleaming examination table. Linka struggled feebly, but she was dizzy and bruised. Her body felt weak and broken. She was overpowered easily, and strapped down with her wrists over her head, belts across her chest, waist and thighs, and again at her ankles, keeping her held down firmly.

"Just a little blood test," Blight cooed, producing a syringe.

"He is not telling you everything, you know," Linka murmured, the leather straps creaking as she twisted against them slowly.

Blight hesitated for just a split second. "Patients of mine aren't allowed to talk, honey."

"Ask him about the other ring in his pocket," Linka continued. "Ask him why he didn't tell you..."

"Blight, shut her up," Plunder said in disgust. "Don't let her distract you."

Blight let the needle hover over Linka's skin. "Do you have another ring?" she asked.

"No," Plunder said, yet again showing exasperation. "She was the only Planeteer we could find, and so hers is the only Planeteer ring we have. But I want to find out more about her so we can use the information to our advantage – and gain the other rings."

"He is not telling you everything," Linka said softly. She raised her head. "And Skumm is not telling _you_ everything."

Anger streaked across Plunder's face.

"Quiet, blondie," Blight snapped. "You'd better be telling me the truth, Looten."

"Would I lie to you?" Plunder replied smoothly, turning away from Linka and giving Blight a wide smile.

Linka could see Blight practically melt. "_Bozhe moy_," she said in disgust. "Do not fall for _that_, Doctor Blight..."

Blight blinked down at her in annoyance. "You're talking too much." She slipped the needle under Linka's skin and began drawing blood.

* * *

_Ma-Ti, please... where are you?_

Linka gazed miserably at the ceiling above her. The lab was relatively silent – MAL was busy humming away against the wall, fans whirring and lights blinking as Blight fed him the sample of Linka's blood. Plunder was vainly trying to catch a glimpse of his reflection in some of the equipment nearby – and Bleak stood in the corner with his arms crossed, obviously in a bad mood because Linka had been brought here before he could 'tenderise' her properly.

She thought she should probably be thankful. She wasn't sure exactly what Bleak had been planning to do to her, but it still hurt to expand her lungs too far, and he'd started to become a little more decisive when it came to which part of her body he was going to abuse next. She shuddered.

"Records are sketchy, even with DNA," said MAL, prompting everyone to look up in interest. "It seems the windy little Planeteer didn't have much of a life before Gaia called on her."

Linka shifted her eyes back to the ceiling and gritted her teeth.

"But oh, Doctor Blight," MAL drawled. "Wait until you see what I have on her now."

"Give it to me, MAL baby," Doctor Blight breathed.

For a computer, MAL sure knew how to play the suspense card.

"I don't think the Planeteer ring is enough for this information," the computer taunted. "This is _very_ interesting data."

"Just tell us, you box of scrap metal!" Plunder snapped, kicking one of MAL's fan casings.

"Temper," MAL answered. "But if you _must_ know, her name is Polina Mikhailovna Vetrova – and she's been working with an environmental investigation company called _Earth & Air,_ in London, for the past twelve months. I have no record of what she did the four years previously. It's like she fell off the face of the planet for a while there."

Blight stood over Linka, her hands on her hips. "Where were you before you started playing eco-detective again?" she asked.

"The moon," Linka answered tiredly.

MAL continued before Blight could react.

"She moved to New York a couple of months ago," he said smugly. "The forwarding address she left for her London company appears to match up with the address of a man named Nicholas Jordan Armstrong."

"Who's he when he's at home?" Plunder asked impatiently. He didn't appreciate being led along by a computer.

MAL chuckled. "She stayed with him for two months and _you_ all know him as Wheeler..."

Doctor Blight gasped with delight, and spun to face Linka again. "You and the firebug? Oh, blondie. You could do better." She laughed hysterically, clutching her stomach.

"That can't be right," Plunder muttered.

"Armstrong went back to New York five years ago and entered straight into employment at – wait for it – an environmental investigation company." MAL chuckled to himself, his pixels wavering as he basked in the attention he was receiving. "It only took him four years to rise to the level of Vice President of the company. There are little scatterings of him everywhere – it looks like he travelled the world solving little eco-crimes all over the place."

"Vice President," Bleak said gruffly, shuffling his way over from where he'd been sulking in the corner. "Yeah that'd pay for that diamond alright."

Plunder flinched, and Blight twirled around immediately.

"What diamond?" she asked breathily.

Plunder glared at Bleak, who looked appropriately guilty.

"They took my engagement ring," Linka said softly. "I told you they were not telling you the truth..."

Blight's face had a decidedly pinched look about it. She glared at Plunder.

"You failed to tell me that little nugget of information," she snapped.

Cornered, Plunder simply shrugged. "Have I ever had the reputation for being truthful?"

"Show me the diamond," Blight demanded, holding her hand out. "Or I'll take it."

"How's that?" Plunder asked in amusement. He noticed the Wind ring on her finger, and sighed. "Ah," he said. "Yes."

He fished Linka's engagement ring out of his pocket and held it up. "You'll give it back, Blight?"

"If I must," Blight said, reaching for it eagerly.

Linka watched miserably as Blight fawned over her engagement ring, polishing the diamond on her lab coat and watching it wink in the bright lights of the laboratory.

"What did _you_ want with an engagement ring?" Blight asked him, her one good eye never leaving the jewellery.

"It's not the engagement ring I want, it's the cash it will bring in," Plunder answered, sounding even more annoyed than usual. "Not only is that ring worth a fair fortune – I'm certain the young firebug will hand over his bank account to get his wife-to-be back. Don't you?"

Blight simpered up to him, giggling softly. "Oh, Plunder," she sighed. "You always did have brains."

Plunder's irritation looked to be easing, until his cell phone rang.

"Skumm," he said in disgust. "What is it now?"

Linka tugged feebly at the straps holding her down, but she wasn't going anywhere. She fell back and listened to Plunder's side of the conversation, hoping to get some clues about the other Planeteers.

"I had to see Blight about something," Plunder was saying. "Something came up. Those pesky Planeteers haven't caused any more trouble, have they?"

She raised her head in hope.

"Shit," Plunder snarled. "How did that happen?" He listened for a few seconds before turning around and glaring at Linka. "A fire? I wonder how that happened."

Linka couldn't help it. She smiled, her eyes drifting back to the ceiling. It sounded like Wheeler was okay, at least. Causing havoc for Skumm...

"The authorities are going to be on that place in the blink of an eye," Plunder said. "You're not still there, are you? Good."

Linka flinched as she felt Bleak's hand on her leg. She glared at him as he traced the slender line of her ankle, taking advantage of Plunder's distraction.

"I don't care, Skumm!" Plunder snarled. "Ignore the planet brats for now. I've got one of their rings, so that idea is out. Just leave the chemicals there. It's over. And remember – we never spoke. Got it?" He hung up, though Linka had the impression Skumm had still been talking.

"The heart power," Plunder said towering over Linka. "How does it work? You get in touch with it through thought – am I right?"

"Basically," Linka sighed. "But it will do _you_ no good, Plunder. You need a good heart to work it."

"I don't want it for myself," he snapped. "I want you to get in touch with your little friends and organise an exchange."

"I cannot," Linka said, shaking her head.

"Yes you can," Plunder snarled in response.

"_Nyet_," Linka said again, shaking her head. "You took my ring. My connection to the other Planeteers is broken."

A nerve in Plunder's face twitched, and he turned to Blight. "Do they need their rings to communicate?"

"How the hell should I know?" Blight asked in irritation. "The kid communicates with animals – and I know he's sent mass warnings out to people who don't have the rings."

"That is different," Linka explained impatiently. "Individual communication is harder. He does not know where I am. He cannot find me specifically. _You_ and your chemicals are blocking his powers anyway. He cannot see through thoughts that come from minds like yours."

"Too clever, are we?" Plunder smirked.

Linka rolled her eyes, shifting uncomfortably on the table she was strapped to. "If you want to get in touch with the Planeteers, you will have to give me my ring back," she said. "Otherwise, find another way to communicate with them."

"I'm not giving it back," Blight said immediately. "I'm off to wreak chaos with it now. If you're done, Plunder, take your little pet with you and get on with whatever it is you want to do. I'm a busy woman." She gazed up at MAL with a deranged smile on her face. "Besides, we have Planeteer blood to play with," she sighed. "Who knows what my genius mind could come up with?"

Plunder rolled his eyes and turned to Bleak. "Why don't you go and invite the firebug to a little get-together tonight?" he asked. "I'm sure he's beginning to worry about his bride-to-be."


	16. Chapter 16

"Where's Linka?" Wheeler's fists were balled tightly at his side, and he was flanked by Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti, all equally furious.

"We'll give 'er back to you," Bleak answered slyly. "But first, the boss wants something in exchange."

"And what might that be?" Kwame asked, his hand on Wheeler's shoulder, trying to keep the fire Planeteer calm.

"Firebug has an impressive bank account, from what we can figure," Bleak said. "MAL's looked into it too."

"Blight is around here as well?" Ma-Ti couldn't help asking.

Bleak ignored him. "We'll let you buy 'er back, firebug. According to MAL, you have a hefty sum in your bank account, and we want to swap your girlfriend for the cash."

"Fine," Wheeler said impatiently. "I don't care, you can have it. I'm sure MAL's already figured out a way to take it anyway."

Bleak blinked for a moment. That thought had obviously not occurred to him before now.

"Ohh," Gi murmured. "Double-crossed, Bleak?"

Bleak spat on the ground. "You," he said, jabbing a finger at Wheeler. "You meet us in the storeroom of the north tunnel of Skumm's warehouses tonight, at midnight. No one else."

"The place is crawling with authorities trying to clean up the mess Skumm made," Kwame said. "The machine inside exploded and caved half of the place in. Not to mention the camps set up for rehabilitating the townspeople."

"You can get past that," Bleak said. "There are entrances to that place the authorities don't know about." He pointed at Wheeler again. "There's another exchange we want. Your rings."

"Our rings?"

"The boss wants them tonight. He'll let you keep them for now, in case you need them to get into the tunnels tonight. But you won't see your little girlfriend again until everything's been handed over to us. Got it?"

"You hurt her, Bleak, and I'll kill you," Wheeler answered coldly. "I mean it."

Bleak just grinned and got back into his car. "Midnight, planet punk."

They watched helplessly as Bleak tore away, spewing gravel and dust over them.

Wheeler sank to the ground miserably, watching his tail-lights speed away into the dark. "How long until midnight?" he asked.

"Four and a half hours." Ma-Ti answered. "What is the plan of action?"

"I don't care what I have to do to get her back," Wheeler answered, still staring off into the dark.

"Wheeler, of course we want Linka back too," Gi said, kneeling beside him. "We'll help you in any way we can."

Wheeler nodded, his mind numb. He didn't care about money – in fact he was pretty sure that as soon as MAL had been able to figure out how much he had, it had been taken. Having money was a relatively new thing to Wheeler anyway, and he didn't consider it a necessity with the Planeteers.

"What are we going to do?" he asked miserably.

"Do not worry, my friend," Kwame said soothingly. "We will think of something."

* * *

Wheeler continued down the tunnel alone, a confusing mixture of anger and nervousness roiling around in his stomach. The plan the Planeteers had settled on didn't seem like a very solid one – but it was the best they could do. He just hoped Linka was okay.

He used his ring to light the path, not entirely sure where he was going until the rocky mouth of the storeroom loomed in front of him, a soft glow emitting from within. He headed for it, his mouth dry.

Plunder stood alone in the middle of the storeroom, just barely visible at the edge of the light the lantern was throwing out.

"Where's Linka?" Wheeler asked immediately, clenching his fists.

"Put the rings on the crate by the lantern and we'll give her back to you," Plunder said smoothly.

"No way, baldy," Wheeler snapped. "I want to know she's okay."

Linka squirmed in Bleak's grasp. Her wrists were bound behind her and he had one hand pressed tightly over her mouth. A gun was nestled securely against the base of her spine.

_Bozhe moy, Wheeler, do not do anything stupid or Bleak will shoot you..._

She kept her eyes fixed on him, hoping he'd be able to hear her somehow.

"Put the rings on the crate."

"Not until I know she's all right," Wheeler said angrily.

Plunder sighed and clicked his fingers. Bleak shoved Linka forward and she stumbled against Plunder, who grabbed her and held her up by her wrists.

"Satisfied?" he asked sarcastically.

"Doing okay, babe?" Wheeler asked anxiously, running his eyes over her in concern.

"_Da_, wonderful," she answered, keeping her eyes locked onto his.

"I told you not to talk," Plunder said, his hand closing in a vice-like grip around her arm. "Remember?"

She bit her lip, still staring at Wheeler, trying to communicate with him. _Bleak is behind us in the dark; he has a gun. Please do not try anything, Wheeler. Please do not get yourself shot. _To her relief, he gave a slight nod, camouflaging it as a simple movement towards his ring.

"So you want to be a fireman?" he asked Plunder, raising his hand.

"Not so fast, Pyro," Plunder growled.

Despite herself, Linka snickered, all her faith in her fiancé now.

"Babe c'mon, I'm trying to save the world," he said, raising his eyebrow in response to her soft laughter.

She smiled again. Maybe she was delirious, but the situation suddenly seemed rather amusing. She watched Wheeler clench his fist slightly, and she braced herself.

"Keep your hand at your side," Plunder snarled, not in the mood for games. "Don't point that thing at me. Where are the other rings?"

Wheeler patted his pocket silently, glaring at Plunder.

"Put them on the crate at the side of the room and then get back near the door."

"Let Linka go," Wheeler said softly, shaking his head.

"I'm the one in charge here, planet pest," Plunder answered. "Bleak told you your fiancée would stay here with us until you gave us the rings. Now hand them over."

Wheeler glanced at Linka, and she stared desperately back at him, unsure on what either of them could do to help themselves.

"_Fire_!"

She jumped as a wave of flame raced along the floor towards them. She heard Bleak give a scream of pain, and Plunder fell back, loosening his grip on Linka. She tore herself out of his grasp and fled towards Wheeler, the thought of Bleak's gun spurring her faster than she'd ever gone before. She had never seen Wheeler use his ring like that – ropes of flame fell through the air like water coiling from a hose, threatening to consume the small space they were confined in. She rain through sprays of flame, unable to do anything but trust Wheeler to make sure it all avoided her.

She collided with him heavily and he wasted no time in swinging her into his arms and tearing through the door out into the corridor.

"Are you trying to kill us?" she panted, slung over his shoulder and looking back at the orange glow emitting from the storeroom.

"Just him," Wheeler answered, taking another sharp turn. Linka groaned, feeling sick as the floor raced past beneath her.

"Bleak had a gun," she gasped.

"Bleak's shoes are on fire," Wheeler answered in response, clutching her tightly and trying not to drop her as he carried her along.

"Kwame!" he shouted, leaping a pothole in the rocky floor. Linka shrieked as they became airborne. She couldn't see Kwame, but she did see a flash of green light, and the unmistakeable sounds of earth being shifted behind them. The tunnel crumbled and caved in behind them, successfully trapping Plunder inside.

"You will kill him!" Linka said desperately, unsure if she wanted Plunder's death on her hands, even after all he'd done.

"It's not a dead end – he can get out the other way." Wheeler slowed and let her down, tugging the rope from her wrists and looking anxiously at the deep welts in her skin.

She fell against him, burying her face in his chest, still feeling ill.

"Are you okay?" he asked desperately, his breath still ragged. He clutched her tightly. "Linka, are you okay?"

She nodded, but her fists were bunched so tight in his shirt her knuckles were aching. Tears trembled on her eyelashes but she refused to let them fall, clenching her jaw and holding her breath until she got it under control again.

"He took my ring," she moaned.

"I know, babe. We'll get it back."

"Nyet," she whispered, looking up at him so he understood. "He took my ring."

His eyes softened when he realised what she meant, and he clasped her left hand tightly. "We'll get it back. Don't worry."

"I do not want to break up the reunion, but we need to get out of here, fast," Kwame said breathlessly. "This tunnel is not stable – and there are too many people around the main chamber that will come with questions about our presence here. We need to get back to the geo-cruiser."

Wheeler nodded and they hurried out of the crumbling tunnel, anxious to get back to the geo-cruiser and find a chance to breathe a little easier.

* * *

"Ooh!" Linka squealed, tugging her hand away. "_Chyort voz'mi, tot vred_..." She examined her wrists, now stinging madly from the salve Ma-Ti had provided.

"Don't be a baby," Wheeler said, grabbing her hand back. He started bandaging the raw skin, letting his fingers linger, stroking her bruises gently.

She leaned against him wearily. "Did you get everyone out?" she asked the group at large.

"Yes, we think so." Gi smiled at her. "Once the machine broke down there was a panic – and we just worked it to our advantage, really, forcing everyone up onto the street. The machine exploded and part of the tunnel caved in, but no one was hurt. The authorities arrived and there were shelters and rehabilitation centres being set up by the time we left. We got a message out about the water supply – hopefully it's been looked into."

"It will still take an awful lot of time," Ma-Ti said, sitting sideways in his seat so he could see the others. "Besides – we only broke Skumm's machine. We couldn't dispose of the waste and we couldn't corner him and get him to the authorities."

"Let's hope he was buried in that first cave-in," Wheeler muttered.

"We'll tidy it all up, Ma-Ti, don't worry," Gi said. "There's still a lot we need to do, but getting Linka back took priority..."

"We need to get Linka's ring back," Kwame said. "If need be, we can call Captain Planet to help us out of this."

"I need both of my rings," Linka murmured. "Doctor Blight has my Planeteer ring and Plunder has my engagement ring." She was exhausted, and her body ached and trembled against her will.

"Go to sleep, babe," Wheeler whispered. He held her close, pressing his mouth gently to the top of her head, his hands gentle on her bruises. She breathed him in – for a moment she could almost imagine it was just the two of them, and it was Sunday morning in New York and they were about to read the papers and have pancakes for breakfast. For a moment she could almost imagine that the past three days fighting Skumm and Plunder hadn't happened at all.

* * *

Linka blinked awake, stifling a groan as she became aware of all the aches and pains in her body. She couldn't hear or feel the gentle hum of the geo-cruiser beneath her any more – they had landed somewhere while she slept. She didn't move. The comforting smell and touch of Wheeler's skin against her kept her still. Around her she could hear soft breathing, and Kwame's gentle snores, which remained a comforting sound to her even after five years of not hearing them.

Wheeler sighed in his sleep, shifting slightly beneath her, his head resting against the window, one arm around her waist and his other draped over her legs. She watched him for a while, drawn to the way his breathing shifted and his eyelids trembled when she moved against him. Dark circles remained under his eyes and she brushed his pale cheek with her fingertips gently, rough stubble grazing her skin.

The games she had played with him, and their bickering and flirting all those years ago seemed like a dream she could only recall through a haze of smoke. It had all been replaced now by the strength of something she doubted she would ever fully understand. All she knew now was that she would not be able to bear life without him.

His eyes fluttered open to discover her watching him.

"Pervert," he muttered, shifting position and nestling into her.

She smiled and put her arms around his neck, her back starting to ache from the uncomfortable position she was in. She did not, however, consider moving to her own seat across the aisle.

"What time is it?" she asked softly.

He tilted his watch towards the window so it caught the moonlight. "Just after five."

She felt his lips brush her temple and she moved her hands to his face and tilted her head up to kiss him properly.

"Do you think you will get your money back?" she asked miserably, resting her forehead against his neck.

"Don't care," he murmured, glancing to Ma-Ti, who was sleeping soundly in front of them. "You're worth more to me than any amount I have in my bank account." He hugged her to him.

"But all those years you worked so hard," she whispered.

"I wasn't working for the money." He bent his head and rested his forehead against hers. "I told you, it was just... I needed to focus my attention on something other than the pretty blonde girl... And I wanted to be enough for her when I finally met her again."

"Did I make you think you were not enough?" she asked, guilt hitting her stomach like a sledgehammer.

"Not really," he said slowly. "Not intentionally." He shifted again and she felt his smile against her forehead. "I just thought you might find it harder to resist the Vice President of an environmental investigation company than you did a short-tempered Planeteer."

She hugged him tightly, trying to keep her voice low despite the urgency she felt. "I only resisted because I was afraid of losing everything," she whispered. "I did not want to start a relationship with you and have it go wrong."

"So what changed?" He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, his eyes meeting hers and holding her gaze.

"I did," she whispered. "And you. And I just..." She sighed, frustrated at not being able to express herself the way she wanted to. "Losing my grandmother... and the fighting with Mishka... All I could think, through all of that time, was that you would stay with me through anything, and I had been so stupid to let you go without telling you how I really felt about you."

"You've never been stupid," he murmured. He held her to him again and she rested her head on his shoulder wearily.

"Go back to sleep, babe," Wheeler whispered. "It's going to be a full-on day."

* * *

"I can't say I missed this," Gi said, spitting her toothpaste beside a nearby shrub.

"Brushing your teeth?" Ma-Ti asked with a grin.

Gi rolled her eyes and smiled. "Overnight camp-outs in the geo-cruiser. We need to stock this baby with some tents and inflatable mattresses or something."

"Stock this baby?" Linka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I taught Gi a few phrases when I was in Seoul," Wheeler grinned, running hands through his wet hair. Between them, he and Gi had managed to supply a setup of warm water, which they had all used to hurriedly scrub and bathe in, the Water and Fire Planeteers returning to the pool each time to bring in fresh water and reheat it accordingly for each member of the team.

Linka felt infinitely better now that she was clean. She had taken the bandages from her wrists and her skin was already looking better. Her bruises, though, had deepened even further, and were quite tender to touch.

"So what's our first move this morning?" Gi asked, throwing her toothbrush into her overnight bag and then throwing the bag carelessly into the geo-cruiser.

"To get Linka's Planeteer ring," Kwame said firmly, just as Wheeler muttered something about 'kicking Plunder's ass.'

"Sounds like a good plan to me, Kwame," Ma-Ti said, choosing to ignore Wheeler's grumblings for now. "I know I will feel much better about things knowing we can call on Captain Planet if we need to."

"We'll definitely need him to help clean up the remnants of Skumm's underground factory," Gi said. "And possibly the warehouses Plunder was storing everything in."

"Well, Plunder gave my ring to Blight," Linka said. "So we need to find her... and I would not mind getting reacquainted with MAL again, either."

Gi grinned. "Well let's go then!" She jumped into the geo-cruiser and sat at the controls, waiting somewhat impatiently for the others.


	17. Chapter 17

Blight's laboratory stood tall and imposing in a lot surrounded by high fences.

They split up – Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti entering at the eastern end of the building, Wheeler and Linka entering at the west. Wheeler had no intention of letting her out of his sight this time, and she was not so quick to protest against it, either.

Once they were inside, however, he wasted no time in pulling her into a stairwell and pushing her gently against the wall to kiss her.

"We are supposed to be working," she whispered, but her hands crept under his shirt to linger against the warm skin of his stomach and his back.

"Your hands are cold." He nipped her neck gently. "I don't want to trade being a Planeteer for anything, but I sure miss being alone with you, babe. I guess I got used to it."

"_Da_, I know." She kissed him sweetly. "Now you have to share me with three other people."

"Yeah, well..." He kissed her again. "I hope you treat them a _little _differently."

She grinned. "Of course."

He took her hand and they started ascending the stairs together.

"Can you remember which floor they brought you to?"

"I think it was two. I think..." She hesitated near the door for the second floor and pushed it open a crack. The corridor didn't give away many clues, but there didn't seem to be anybody around, so she crept out carefully.

"I go first, remember?" Wheeler whispered, holding his ring up pointedly. "At least until you get your tornado powers back."

She rolled her eyes, though she was not really disagreeing, and crept after him down the corridor.

"Why does Blight need such a big building?" Wheeler asked in frustration. "She can't have that many psycho experiments in progress, can she?"

"Shh!" Linka stopped, suddenly, tilting her head to hear. "In there," she whispered, pointing to a door off to the right. "The elevator is coming."

He heard the chime of the elevator just as she tugged him into another corridor.

"How the hell did you hear that?" he asked, not really requiring an answer.

They could hear rapid footsteps, and Linka dropped to her knees, peering through the crack under the door. She glimpsed Blight's boots as she stormed past, and then a screech of impatience.

"MAL!"

"Quick," Wheeler whispered, inching the door open and following Blight. They stopped at the edge of the laboratory Linka recognised as the one she'd been held in earlier.

"Tell me you're done, MAL baby," Blight was pleading. "Please?"

"It will take time, Doctor," MAL was answering, sounding rather weary. "I told you it could take two or three days."

Blight made a noise of disgust, and then distracted herself by admiring the Planeteer ring on her finger.

"I don't know why Plunder hasn't come back with the Fire ring," she murmured. "Typical of him, to use me when he wants something and then not bother returning."

Linka nudged Wheeler. She'd just spotted Gi peering into the window from the corridor on the other side of the laboratory. Wheeler murmured gently in her ear to let her know he knew they were there. They caught a glimpse of Ma-Ti, and he grinned at them before ducking out of sight again.

_Anyone got a plan_?

Linka was relieved to hear his voice – though she knew her connection to him would be stronger with her ring. She looked at Wheeler and he shrugged.

_We could just go in and confront her. Four rings against one._

_Do you think that is sensible_?

Wheeler raised his eyebrow at Linka as they heard Kwame's doubt, and she smiled at him.

_Any other ideas_?

The silence was deafening. For a moment.

"Doctor Blight something is interfering with my equipment," MAL said suddenly. "I'm suspecting the planet brats are around."

Blight whirled in a panic. "What? Where?"

Gi strode into the room confidently, their cover blown, and Kwame and Ma-Ti quickly followed, with two words silently directed at Wheeler and Linka.

_Stay there._

"No way," Wheeler whispered.

Linka grabbed his hand and shook her head. "They have it, Yankee," she whispered. Besides – I want them to lead Blight away. MAL and I have what you would call a 'hot date'."

Wheeler leaned against the wall. "Oh really?" He grinned lazily, but his attention was quickly drawn to the laboratory again.

Blight had clumsily tried to use Linka's ring against Gi, and had tipped herself up on the floor in a whirlwind of panic.

"Damn it!" she cried. Kwame and Ma-Ti were on her in moments, hauling her to her feet and tugging Linka's ring from her finger with surprising ease.

"So what have you been up to during the past five years, Doctor Blight?" Gi asked, pocketing Linka's ring safely.

"Oh the usual," Blight snarled. "Wonderful stuff. Having you eco-brats out from under my feet made things a lot easier. But look, Plunder has your blonde friend – I don't have anything to do with it."

"He does _not_ have our blonde friend," Gi sighed impatiently. "We do. She's safe and sound and she's going to appreciate getting her ring back."

"Yes," Kwame agreed, holding Blight tightly. "But there are some questions about Plunder we would like to ask you – not to mention some of the things we passed on the way up here. So you are coming with us for a while. Agree?"

"Some of those experiments have been in place for years!" Blight said, her voice high with panic. "You shut me down now and everything will be lost!"

"Excellent," Gi said, winking at her cheekily. "Come on – we want to hear all about it."

They led her away, and Linka and Wheeler entered the laboratory safely as Blight's arguing voice died away.

"What do you think you're doing?" MAL's voice sounded alarmed, and Linka smiled up at the green face on the monitor.

"Just getting reacquainted," she said. "I would like my blood back, please."

"It's running through my system," MAL said smugly. "You won't get it back until after I'm done with it."

"Sick," Wheeler said, wrinkling his nose.

"No, you brainless wonder," MAL sighed. "It's extremely clever." He glared down at Linka. "Just you wait until you see what I'm doing with it, blondie."

"I would rather not," she said, sitting at the main keyboard.

"Wait – what are you doing?" MAL asked nervously. "Don't!"

"What _are_ you doing, babe?"

"Just correcting a few mistakes," Linka said, her fingers striking the keys rapidly. "And stopping whatever it is Blight wants done with my blood."

MAL shrieked. "Don't! Doctor Blight will fry my circuits!"

"Or Plunder will," Linka retorted. "Does he know you took Wheeler's money before he and Bleak could?"

MAL coughed pathetically. "I'm not sure," he said.

"Typical," she scoffed. "Skumm hides his real intentions from Plunder, Plunder tries to hide his real intentions from Blight – Blight knifes Plunder in the back. How any of you get anything done together is beyond me..."

Wheeler watched with wonder as Linka typed quickly. He had no idea what she was doing, but it was impressing him, and apparently doing damage to MAL.

"Doctor Blight!" MAL shrieked. "Help!"

"Almost done," Linka sighed. She smiled up at her fiancé. "You have your money back, Yankee."

His mouth dropped open. "I do?"

She nodded, and turned back to MAL, her expression icy. "Did you not realise the dangers of playing with other people's blood?" she asked, drawing her trusty memory stick out of her bra. "You could catch a virus."

"No!" MAL screeched. "No! Doctor Blight, help! Help!"

Linka almost felt sorry for him – it wasn't his fault he was programmed the way he was. He was Doctor Blight's creation – she was the one to blame. But then she remembered how smug he was, and how he had rejoiced in weeding out her details and basked in the attention Blight and Plunder gave to him as he revealed her past to them. She shoved the USB into an open port and uploaded the virus. MAL's screen quickly dimmed, and his cries cut short.

"Wow, he didn't even cough first," Wheeler said.

Linka tucked her memory stick back into her bra and he watched with amusement.

"That was very James Bond of you, babe."

She laughed. "_Nyet_, in James Bond films, we are always the villains."

"Well you Russians can't be trusted."

She elbowed him in the ribs and he coughed and followed her out the door, laughing.

* * *

Linka breathed a sigh of relief once her Planeteer ring was back on her right hand.

"One down, one to go," Wheeler said, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"I will feel better once we track down Skumm and Plunder," Ma-Ti said. "They need to be held accountable for what they've done."

"And so does the minister Plunder was bribing," Wheeler reminded them. "Then we can clean up properly and be back in time for dinner."

"Yeah, great," Gi sighed. "Does it feel to anyone else that we're right back where we started?"

"_Nyet_," Linka said. "We have stopped Skumm's operation. The river is no longer having the chemicals dumped into it, the people he had control over are getting help, and the government has been made aware of the toxic water."

"And don't forget, Doctor Blight and MAL have been taken out of the equation," Wheeler said, smiling at Gi. "It hasn't been a totally helpless cause, _danbi_."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I suppose."

"Back to work?" Ma-Ti asked wearily.

"I am ready to sleep," Kwame groaned, stretching out on the ground. The sun was low in the sky, though there were still a few hours of daylight left. "But I suppose you are right Ma-Ti," he sighed. "The longer we leave it, the further Plunder and Skumm can run."

* * *

Wheeler stifled a yawn. His body was aching and he'd not exactly had a restful few days. He stroked Linka's hair, his mind wandering as Kwame and Ma-Ti discussed various ways on getting to Plunder and Bleak.

Linka, however, was growing impatient. "I do not want to give him any chances," she said fretfully. "I just want to go in and get my ring back, and then hand him over to the police. Please? I do not want schemes and plans and being split up and things going wrong. Please." She looked hopefully at Kwame, wanting him to know she wasn't mad at him – she was just tired of waiting around.

"I'm with Linka," Gi said tiredly. "Let's just march in and meet him face-to-face. And if we get into trouble, the first move we make is calling Cap. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they all murmured.

Gi insisted upon a group hug to seal the deal, and then they piled back into the geo-cruiser, heading back to Plunder's warehouses – sure that even if he had left the premises, they would be able to find a clue as to where he had gone.

Plunder, however, had not gone anywhere. They could hear his presence as they drew closer, entering the front door of the warehouse, rings ready to be used at the slightest provocation.

"Remember Bleak has a gun," Linka said weakly, clutching at the back of Wheeler's jacket as they filed through the door.

He took her hand and squeezed it in response before letting her go so her right hand was free.

"Plunder!" Kwame shouted. "We would like a word."

Gi sniggered at the understated way Kwame had declared things, and they all grinned nervously, their bravado starting to waver just a little as Plunder's ranting phone call cut itself short, and he appeared on the surveying floor above them.

"Planeteer pests," he spat. "Come back to finish me off?"

"Why, are you hurt?" Ma-Ti enquired politely.

Gi bit her lip, bordering on what she assumed was hysteria.

"You," Plunder snarled, pointing his finger at Wheeler. "You almost killed me."

"You took Linka, beat her up, and then stole my money _and_ her engagement ring," Wheeler spat. "I still don't consider us even, asshole. Now hand Linka's ring over."

"Blight has her ring."

"Her engagement ring," echoed four angry voices.

Linka smiled a little, feeling the warm support from them enveloping her like a blanket.

"Why should I?" Plunder asked haughtily.

"Give it here or I'll smoke you off the planet," Wheeler growled, his fist suddenly pointed steadily at the man on the stairs above them.

"That's not very eco-friendly, surely?" Plunder responded – though he sounded somewhat nervous.

"I mean it, Plunder. You're giving my fiancée her ring back."

Despite the ice in his voice, Linka's body tingled with affection. _My fiancée. You're giving my fiancée her ring back._

Plunder threw it to him in disgust, and took off along the corridor and out of sight as Wheeler leapt to catch it. He looked as though he would give chase for a moment, but sighed instead and turned to Linka.

"Come here, babe," he said. "Let's put this back where it belongs."

She beamed and skipped over to him, a surge of energy in her now. She let him slip it back onto her finger before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He bumped his forehead against hers affectionately. "You're welcome. Want to go catch some bad guys now?"

"_Da_," she giggled, and she took his hand and they raced after Plunder – Gi, Kwame and Ma-Ti following close behind them.

* * *

Bleak was the first to join Blight behind bars – mainly because he couldn't walk. They'd found him huddled miserably in the back seat of Plunder's car, his hands and feet horrendously blistered from Wheeler's efforts the previous night. Verbally, he put up an impressive fight, but without the ability to walk or fight comfortably, he was not much of a threat to them.

"Anyone seen Plunder?" Wheeler asked, his eyes scanning the yard.

"Let's just call Captain Planet," Gi said tiredly. "He can find him and hand him over to the authorities in no time. And he can take care of this waste, too."

"No, stop!" Plunder said, jumping out from behind a stack of barrels and crates, his hands in the air. "I'm not going anywhere with that big blue buffoon. He'll carry me through the air like a ragdoll and tell stupid jokes the whole time. I surrender."

Gi huffed. "Well that's _hardly_ any fun."

Wheeler chuckled and kept his ring trained on Plunder. "Call Cap anyway. I'm sure he'll want to say hi."

Captain Planet did more than say hi. He whistled cheerfully, carrying Plunder by the scruff of his jacket to the authorities, who were beginning to gather around to aid in the clean-up effort.

"What about Skumm?" Ma-Ti asked, pulling the other Planeteers together. "We have no idea where he disappeared to. Those tunnels go so far underground... We don't know where to start."

They all shrugged doubtfully, and looked worried.

"I think we lost him, this time," Wheeler said quietly. "I guess we'll just have to wait."

"_Da_, he will show up again," Linka said, shuddering slightly. "We will be ready for him."

* * *

"You will want to check into the water minister here, too," Linka told the police chief as the night eventually wound to a close. "He has been accepting bribes in order to allow the dumping of chemicals into the river. And there are possibly more people out there who have been affected. They will need to be treated by the medical teams."

"The clean-up is going to take a while, isn't it?" the chief asked, looking at her quite seriously.

"_Da_. But with a little hard work the damage could be repaired." She shrugged. "It takes time and dedication, but it is worth it."

"Well you did a great job," the chief said admiringly. "We could use a woman like you around here."

"She's needed elsewhere," Wheeler said, slinging an arm around his fiancée's shoulders.

She rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, but he grinned down at her and winked at the chief.

"We about done here?" he asked, unable to prevent his need to reaffirm his position as Linka's man.

"Yeah I think so." The chief glared at him and returned to the lingering members of his team, notepad in hand.

"You have not changed that much, Yankee," Linka sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist, not having the energy to berate him for his jealousy-provoked actions.

He kissed the top of her head in reply. "Let's go home, babe."


	18. Chapter 18

**Note:** This is the final chapter, but the story continues in the sequel _Steal My Heart._ Thank you to everyone who reviewed and encouraged my first Captain Planet fic! I hope as I write more, I get better. :)

* * *

"So we get to rest for a day, right?" Gi pleaded. "I know we've got five years to catch up on, Gaia, but –"

"Your welfare is my first concern, Planeteers," Gaia replied with a smile. "Linka, you need time to recover. Wheeler, you need sleep. And you _all_ need to shower."

"I hear that," Wheeler said, sniffing the top of Ma-Ti's head. The youngest Planeteer shoved him away with a smile.

"You did very well," Gaia said, smiling at each of them. "That was a difficult case and it went deep. I'm sorry it was so dangerous for you – but everything turned out well in the end."

"I suppose," Gi sighed. "Though some of the damage to that river will take years to repair."

"There's not much we can do about that, Gi," Gaia said sympathetically. "Just be proud that you stopped it and that all those people Skumm was trying to control will be getting better."

"I wish we had caught him," Linka said, chewing her lip anxiously. "It is not right that he got away."

"Unfortunately we can't have a 100% success rate," Gaia soothed. "But Skumm will show up again, and you'll be ready to stop him at a moment's notice. Won't you?"

They all swore to it, before breaking up and drifting back to their huts to shower and catch up on their sleep.

* * *

Linka was sitting in the middle of the bed combing her wet hair when Wheeler suggested going down to the beach.

She hesitated for a moment. She was exhausted and craved sleep more than almost anything.

Almost anything.

She followed him down to the beach and sank into the sand, cuddling into his arms as the breeze off the ocean swept over them, sending her damp hair into wild curls.

"You know the next time I see any of those guys it's going to be harder to let you out of my sight?" Wheeler asked, his lips pressing against the bare skin of her shoulder.

She pressed her back further into his chest, tipping her head back to catch his eye. "I am fine," she whispered.

"That's not the point." He gave a brief smile and then looked out at the waves running up the sand. "If I lost you, Linka..."

"Wheeler –"

"No, don't. Just hang on a second." He furrowed his brow, trying to sort his thoughts into sentences. "The past five years were the worst years of my life," he said eventually. "And that includes my upbringing. All I could think about was you, and the way I felt about you and the way we left things... A hug and a kiss on the cheek, Linka." He squeezed her tightly. "That last day on Hope Island, and we both knew it was the last day, and all either of us could manage was a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and every time I thought about it, I felt sick to my stomach because it seemed like such a waste...

"So I threw myself into work – trying to work so hard I'd forget you. And the irony of choosing a job that seemed like an executive Planeteer wasn't lost on me. I even – I..." He sighed and buried his face in her neck. "I even went to Russia last year, after visiting Gi, to try and find you," he mumbled. "There was a different family in your house... your grandmother was gone, Mishka was gone... you were gone. I had no idea where to start looking after that. I figured it was a sign that I should just move on."

She was breathing heavily, her throat aching at the effort of holding back sudden tears.

"Only I couldn't," he sighed, nuzzling her neck. "I know I was just a stupid kid when we first met, Linka... I know I annoyed you. I know I made you mad sometimes, and I know I thought about myself and my own feelings before I thought about yours... but I loved you so much, even then."

She couldn't answer. She had tears spilling down her cheeks and she was trying to breathe steadily so he wouldn't notice, her body tuned to hear the slightest noise from him as he continued, his whispers lost in her hair and her skin.

"I know the past five years were much harder on you than they were on me," he continued softly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, Linka."

"_Nyet_," she gasped softly. "It was not your fault, it was me –"

"I gave up," he argued. "I just stopped. I was selfish. Hurt. And I felt guilty because I knew you what you were dealing with and I felt pathetic about needing you to pay attention to me as well. I guess I had a lot of growing up to do. And I know, lately, after finding you again, things have moved fast between us... But I want you to know, I'll do anything for you. And I've changed – I hope."

"Wheeler..." Tears ran freely down her face. She was exhausted and the trauma of the past few days had hit her like a tonne of bricks, but every inch of her was focused on him, her heart beating in unison with his.

"So, if we go on our next mission and I tell you I want you wrapped up in cotton wool and waiting for me in the geo-cruiser..."

She laughed helplessly, squirming around in his arms and shifting on the sand to face him, her arms around his neck, her tears gleaming in the silvery moonlight.

"I know you can take care of yourself," he said, a small smile on his face. He looked pale and drawn. "I know you've been through things that have changed you... Sometimes you seem like the same old Linka, but I know you feel a lot more vulnerable than you used to, and I know you don't like that."

She blinked up at him wordlessly, almost aching with the realisation he could read her better than she could read him. For a split second she doubted everything – whether she could make this work, whether she could throw herself into something that might bring more heartache than she'd ever experienced. But the thought of turning away from him filled her with an uncontrollable surge of panic and grief, and she knew – she _knew_ – that this was it, for the both of them, and if it ended between them, _everything_ ended. This was how it was going to be now – no more games. From here on it was just the two of them; heavy and combined as one forever.

She nodded slowly, thoughts still churning through her mind. "I do feel vulnerable," she whispered. "I hate it."

He laughed softly, his forehead against hers. "It'll be okay, babe. I feel vulnerable, too."

"You do?" She wiped a hand across her cheek, leaving a trail of white sand clinging to her wet skin.

He brushed it away gently. "All the things that could go wrong here? I've never felt more terrified. The fact that maybe you'll wake up one day and realise you could do a thousand times better than a guy from Brooklyn... Or that working together is going to complicate things between us, or us and the others, and one of us is going to want to leave? That scares the hell out of me."

His arms tightened around her slightly. "And when you went missing and I knew..." He sighed. "I knew something bad had happened to you, I thought I was going to die right then and there. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think..." He shook his head and brushed his lips against hers. "It's so dangerous, Linka," he breathed.

She kissed him. "I worry about you like that too," she said. "But... Wheeler, if we spend our lives thinking about what could go wrong..." She wiped her eyes again, and again he brushed away granules of sand with trembling fingertips.

"One of the last things my grandmother said to me... Before she got so ill, and confused, she told me to _live_," Linka wept. "And I want to live, Wheeler. I want to be with you and get married to you and laugh with you and be with you forever."

He smiled and kissed her, his hands twined in her wind-blown hair, her body trapped against his in a helpless tangle of arms and legs. He rolled her into the sand and she felt the beautiful weight of him, the sand still warm beneath her and the sky open and glittering above them.

The uncertainty of everything had blown away like smoke. She was going to be just fine.

They were going to be just fine.


End file.
